Teens on Coffee
by NeMo-LL
Summary: Hello there, sweet reader! We're Neeve (Niamh, England) and Mo (Moniek, the Netherlands) and we've been fan of fanfiction for some time now. This one is about Luke and Lorelai in the year 2012, where they have two teenage kiddies together. The history of how they got together will be revealed. At. Some. Point. Thank you and enjoy as much as you can! Love, NeMo-LL
1. Chapter 1: The many Joys of Family

**A/N: (This will be a long one)**

**Neeve and I have both been reading a lot of fanfiction lately. We've been obsessed with Jewels12 and Mag68, writers of awesome JavaJunkie fanfics and two of the main writers of "Virtual Gilmore". Jules and Mags have inspired us to start writing fanfiction ourselves. We're scared, we're excited, and we're exhilarated.**

**Mag68 wrote the beautiful ff series "Good at Dating" (Seriously guys, read it!). In part 4 "Packaged Goods", there was this chapter in which Luke had a dream about the future. In this dream his and Lorelai's kids were teenagers in all their teen-glory. Neeve and I realized we had never read a fanfiction about Luke and Lorelai and their teen-kids before, yet we really, really enjoyed said chapter. Therefore, we decided to write this story together.**

**Navy, it's been a blessing working with you. Our ideas seem to fit well together and accommodate each other perfectly, our writing seems very in sync (apart from me AmericaniZing your parts -sorry, if I skipped some things. I'm not American, you see) and, well, you're just a cool gal, HONNY ;). Love ya!**

**Jules, Mags, this chapter is dedicated to you both for the beautiful words you've put together for years with so much love, care and patience, to make sure Gilmore Girls is honored and still very much alive, as it should be. We thank you both!**

– **M**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The many joys of family**

Lorelai awoke to the warm summer sunlight streaming through the bedroom curtains. She groggily opened her eyes and turned to catch a glance at the clock on her nightstand, which flashed '08:34'. She let out a gentle sigh and turned to face Luke. He lay flat on his back, his lips parted, a small snore escaping them and his arm tucked behind his head. She moved over to him, resting her head on his chest. Luke started to stir as she gently raked her nails over his cotton cladded stomach.

"Good morning, handsome," she said softly, resting her chin on Luke's chest and looking up at him.

"Hey," he rasped, wrapping his arm around Lorelai and pulling her closer to him.

"Did you not have to open today?"

"Nope. I told Caesar I wanted Saturday morning with my girl," he said playfully, smiling down at her and brushing a lock of hair from her face.

"Aw, well aren't you just the cutest!" she teased, snuggling into him.

Luke chuckled, placing a kiss to the top of her curls and breathing in the smell of her raspberry shampoo. He smiled happily, rhythmically rubbing small circles on her arm.

Lorelai lifted her head to look into his dark blue eyes again. "Now that you have the morning with your girl, what do you intend to do with her?" she asked teasingly, her eyes sparkling bright blue with pleasure, a smile plastered on her face and her eyebrows lifted as though she was thinking deeply of something they could do.

"I have some ideas," Luke mumbled before he bent down and pressed his lips on hers. As the kiss grew deeper and more passionate, Lorelai let out a moan, before pulling away to catch her breath. She started pressing wet kisses to his cheek and down to his neck and his cladded collarbone, while her hand traveled up under his shirt, raking her nails through the hair on his stomach and up to his chest.

Luke's head dropped back to his pillow, his neck tired from keeping it up earlier to kiss her, and he closed his eyes to enjoy the feel of her light touches. He held one arm firmly around her to keep her close, while his other hand lay useless next to him.

They were interrupted by a loud bang as their bedroom door hit the wall and Rick stormed into their room.

"Mom! You forgot…," he started to yell, but trailed off when he saw his parents jerk up and quickly move a little further away from each other. "Ah geez!" he yelled, his arms swaying around in frustration, before covering his eyes dramatically with his hand and spinning around to leave the room.

"Thanks for the knock," Luke mumbled as his face flushed a slight pink color.

"Hon, what's wrong?" Lorelai asked sincerely as she sat up straight in bed.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?!" Rick said in a shocked tone as he faced them again, "Oh, I don't know. Why don't you just take a look at my hair?! Not to mention walking in on you two being way too comfortable together! It's only half past eight and my morning already completely sucks!"

"Your hair looks fine to me," Lorelai said, shrugging her shoulders and ignoring his last statement.

"It does _not_ look fine, because _someone_ forgot to buy me new hair gel!" he shouted looking pointedly at Lorelai, "I have to work today, but I can't go out like this! Geez!"

"And good morning to you too," Luke mumbled, annoyed by his son's rude interruption over something as stupid as hair gel.

"You think this is funny?!" Rick sneered at his father and opened his mouth to continue his shouting match.

"Shh! Your sister's still sleeping," Lorelai said in a loud whisper.

Rick snorted. "It'd be good for her to get out early for once and maybe do something _useful_." He took a breath. "Well?" he looked questioningly at his mother.

"Well, what? " Lorelai asked confused.

Rick sighed loudly. "Did you or did you not buy me new hair gel?!" he sneered impatiently, hopping from one leg to the other.

Luke had heard enough. "Don't use that tone with your mother," he said strictly. "Besides, it wasn't her time to do groceries, it was mine. Did you write it down?"

"Of course I wrote it down! I'm not an idiot! I didn't want to _run_ _out_ of it and _look_ like an idiot either, you know? But hey, look at me now!" he spoke to his father as though he had just told him he was a little child, his voice rising again.

"In that case, I'm sorry," Luke said calmly. "I was in a hurry, I must have overlooked it. You'll just have to deal today, we'll get it for you this afternoon."

"Are you sure we have nothing left, Hon?" Lorelai asked as she made an attempt to get out of bed.

Rick held out his hand to stop her, just like Luke would do, and said, "Yeah, I'm sure. I checked everywhere. Never mind," He swirled around and walked out of the room. Luke and Lorelai heard him mumbling under his breath, "You'll just have to deal," followed by a loud snort.

"Wear a hat! It works for me!" Luke called, before the door was slammed shut.

Lorelai sighed and turned to Luke, "That temper, he got from you."

"That vanity, he got from you," Luke shot back with a slight smile and Lorelai laughed.

"Nice one," she quickly pecked his lips, "but you're pretty vain too, you know."

"Was it the wide assortment in my wardrobe that gave me away," Luke asked dryly. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" he asked, grabbing her arm as she attempted to get out of bed.

Lorelai looked backed at him. "Moment's kinda gone, don't you think? Besides, Rick is up and will probably start nagging you for breakfast soon and I wouldn't be surprised if Emmy's up thanks to that nice shouting match Rick just gave us. Not such a good morning after all."

"We could make it a good morning," Luke said, raising his eyebrows suggestively but Lorelai shook her head. "A quickie?" Luke asked pleadingly, his dark blue eyes big of hope and a begging look on his face.

Lorelai couldn't resist. "Man, you're good," she said with a laugh, gliding back into bed and scooting closer to him.

Luke immediately captured her lips with his, rolled on top of her and pressed her down into the mattress, the bulge in his sweatpants very present against her thigh.

* * *

Lorelai trudged down the stairs in her pajamas and bunny slippers, a content smile on her face. She stopped as she reached the bottom step, glancing around suspiciously and sniffing dramatically. Following the smell, she slowly made her way to the living room, gently opening the door and peering in.

Emma was led out on the couch, her legs wrapped in a blanket and her head turned towards the TV; she had both hands wrapped tightly around a brightly colored coffee mug. As Lorelai walked further into the room, Emma turned to face her and froze, holding her mug in mid-air so that only her wide blue eyes could be seen over the rim.

Lorelai stared open mouthed at her, "Emma Rebecca Danes! Are you drinking coffee?" Lorelai said in a slight mock stern voice.

Emma slowly lowered the mug and looked at her Mom with innocent eyes, "Uh, nooo… See, I made you a cup of coffee but you weren't up yet, so I brought it in here with me, so that I could, uh, keep it warm," she gave Lorelai a bright smile, to cover her unconvincing lie.

"Uh huh, nice try," Lorelai said with a grin as she moved over and sat on the couch next to her daughter. Lifting the blanket and draping it over her own legs, she situated herself and then swiftly swiped the mug from Emma's hand.

"Hey!" Emma shouted in protest.

"I thought you said it was for me?" Lorelai teased, taking a healthy glug of the coffee and releasing an exaggerated 'ah' in pleasure. Emma crossed her arms over her chest, falling back against the couch and letting out a loud huff. "Hey, I'm doing you a favor. If your Dad knew you were drinking this he'd kill you. I, on the other hand, just tease," Lorelai added, taking another sip "mmm, so good!" she said playfully.

Emma sank further into the couch cushions, "This is so unfair. You guys said I could drink coffee once I turned thirteen!"

"I know we did," Lorelai said giving her a tender smile and tucking a strand of Emma's dark hair behind her ear.

"Then why can't I?!"

"You can, just only… " Lorelai said weakly.

"Twice a week," Emma deadpanned, giving her a frustrated frown.

Lorelai giggled slightly and gave her a sympathetic smile, "Look, hon, you know how your Dad is and trust me, you have no idea how hard it was to get him to agree to the twice a week thing."

"Yeah, I know," Emma exhaled loudly, turning back towards the TV, "Still unfair though," she muttered under her breath, eliciting a playful eye roll from Lorelai.

"Your brother still upstairs?" Lorelai asked her daughter after a short silence between them.

"No, he already left," she said distractedly, her eyes focused on the TV, "and he looked kinda funny".

"He ran out of gel and he was not happy."

"That explains my way too early wake up call. Not the voice I wanna wake up to," Emma whined.

Lorelai gently rubbed her leg through the blanket and asked, "Did he have any breakfast."

"He grabbed a poptart on the way out," she said, waving her hand to silence Lorelai and laughing loudly at something funny on the TV.

Lorelai sighed, got up and walked to the kitchen. Rick had completely emptied the coffeepot, so she had to make new one. She took out a coffee filter, while sipping on the cup she'd just stolen from Emma.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Luke asked as he entered the kitchen, freshly showered and fully dressed, and he pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"Ooh, eggs with bacon and toast! No, no, Pancakes. Fluffy chocolate pancakes with lots of whipped cream!" she answered excitedly.

"No chocolate and no whipped cream," Luke answered gruffly. "You can have normal pancakes."

"I can't decide," Lorelai said. "Emmy! Pancakes or eggs?" she shouted.

"Whichever," came her uninterested voice from the living-room.

Lorelai pouted and looked at Luke. "She really has to start appreciating good food. I'm starting to wonder if she's really my daughter."

"She's thirteen and she's addicted to coffee. She's yours," Luke said dryly, rolling his eyes.

Lorelai smirked and nodded. "I'll take the pancakes please," she said as she put the filter in the coffeemaker, "but can you make your delicious, special Luke's coffee for me first?"

"What's that in your hand?" he asked without looking at her while taking out the ingredients he needed from the fridge.

Lorelai looked down, as though she didn't know what he meant. "You mean this?" she held up the coffee cup. When Luke nodded, she started to whine, "There was only half a cup left. Rick took the rest!" afraid that he would deny her a fresh pot.

Luke sighed and shook his head, but he walked over to where she was standing and playfully bumped his hip against hers to move her out of the way.

Lorelai sat down at the kitchen table with a content smile, as she watched her man move around the kitchen, doing the things he did best, while waiting for her much needed coffee.

* * *

"Em, breakfast is ready!" Luke said, his head peering into the living room.

Emma slowly got off of the couch and slumbered to the kitchen in her own bunny slippers, that matched Lorelai's, muttering something on the way about her program not having finished yet.

Luke put the plate of fluffy pancakes on the table and Lorelai and Emma quickly attacked the food, as Luke sat down to eat some toast with smoked salmon, onions and lettuce.

"April just called. She wants to come over next weekend," Luke said with a smile to Lorelai.

Lorelai smiled at him and touched his hand. "See? She hasn't forgotten you. She misses you too. Feeling better?"

"Yeah," Luke nodded. "She said Harvard has been keeping her incredibly busy, but now she has some more time. She's at Anna's this weekend. They both say 'hi', by the way."

Lorelai nodded her understanding, before a big grin spread across her face. "Rory's coming over next weekend too. We'll have the whole family together again. Finally."

"Yeah, it's been a while," Luke said as he smiled back at her pleased face. "Finish your pancakes, before Emmy eats them all," he pointed at the food and received a loud giggle from Emma.

Emma's head then bolted up in recognition, turning her head to face Lorelai, "Wait! Did you say Rory's coming over?!" a wide smile spreading across her face.

"For this, I get your attention, but earlier, I talked about pancakes and nothing! Seriously, Em, where are your priorities?" Lorelai said in an exasperated tone, using her hands to emphasize her point. When Emma sighed and gave her an impatient look, in a way that was uncannily like her father, Lorelai smiled, "Yes, her and Dan are coming over around lunchtime,"

"Dan too?! Oh, yay! I can't wait!" Emma squealed with glee.

Luke ceased the opportunity to hastily add: "April will be spending the weekend over here too,"

Emma had now returned her gaze and concentration to her pancakes, "Uh huh," resuming her uninterested tone.

Luke exchanged a glance with Lorelai, who gave him a sympathetic shrug. "Emma?" Luke asked, trying to keep the agitation from his voice.

"Mhm?" Emma asked unresponsively in between shoveling a forkful of pancake into her mouth.

"Will you please just try and be nicer this time?" Luke implored, resting his hands on the kitchen table and looking at her intently.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma asked loudly, anger beginning to creep into her voice.

"You know full well what that means, Emma!" he shouted, his annoyance now starting to surface, his voice coming out slightly louder than he had intended.

"Hey, honey, calm down," Lorelai said softly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder to pacify him. Luke softened at her touch and tried to keep his anger in check.

Emma looked down at her plate; toying with her pancake and scoffed, "I don't know what you're talking about,"

"Oh come on, Emmy! Every time she's here you make no effort whatsoever! You practically ignore her; of course that's when you're not making any snide remarks. She's your sister, you can't keep treating her this way!" Luke spoke angrily, but kept his voice at an acceptable volume, his eyes now locked with Emma's.

"She's a big girl, Dad, I think she can take it," Emma countered sarcastically.

"EMMA!" Luke growled warningly as he stood up from the chair, almost knocking it over in the process, towering over his daughter and his patience running thin.

"Luke, please," Lorelai implored, more firmly this time as she got up too and pressed senseless on his shoulder to make him sit down again.

"Fine! I'll try to behave," Emma drawled sarcastically, ignoring her mother's attempts to placate. "Geez!" she sighed, as she stood up and quickly made her way for the stairs.

"Hon, you didn't finish your pancakes," Lorelai called after her, slight desperation in her voice.

"I'm not hungry!" Emma called down the stairs as she began to jog up them and towards her room.

Lorelai and Luke both flinched when they heard Emma's bedroom door slam shut. Luke took off his ball cap and ran his fingers through his greying hair, as Lorelai slowly slumped into the seat that Emma had just vacated.

"What the hell is her problem?" Luke exclaimed to Lorelai, his finger pointing behind him in the direction that Emma had just walked off in.

Lorelai rolled her eyes and shook her head, "I don't know, babe," she sighed heavily.

"I just don't understand it, I mean, she's fine with Rory!" Luke pointed it out, starting to pace a little.

"Yeah, but Em spent the first four years of her life with Rory; it's different," Lorelai reasoned, rising from the chair and walking towards him, placing her hands on his forearms, and slowly rubbing them to calm him.

"I guess," Luke shrugged sadly "I just want her to have some sort of relationship with April, you know?"

"I know, babe," Lorelai spoke sincerely, "I'll talk to her, okay?" Lorelai suggested, looking up into his troubled blue eyes.

Luke nodded silently, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her in for a tight embrace before placing a kiss to the top of her curls.

* * *

"Who is it?" Emma's muffled voice called in response to Lorelai's gentle knock on her bedroom door.

"It's me," Lorelai said softly with her hand on the doorknob, "Can I come in, please?"

After a pause, Emma unconvincingly said, "Sure," and her mother walked into the room.

Emma lay stretched out on the bed, her face buried in her pillow. Lorelai could just hear the uneven breathing of her sobs. "Oh, hon," she sighed sympathetically, as she walked over to her daughter. Lorelai sat on the edge of her bed, Emma's back facing her and began stroking Emma's long brown curls that cascaded down her back and pooled around her pillow.

Emma turned around and looked at her mom, her dark blue eyes filled with tears, before she threw herself at Lorelai. Lorelai caught her and held her in a tight embrace, patiently waiting for Emma's sobs to subside while stroking her back affectionately.

After about ten minutes, Emma sighed deeply, sat backwards and looked at her mom, who used the pads of her thumb to gently swipe away the tears from her face. Emma opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again quickly.

"Emmy, you can tell me," Lorelai said, encouragingly nodding at her and trying to make eye-contact, "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Emma looked into her mother's determined and patient eyes and sighed, "It's just so unfair."

"What is, hon?" Lorelai asked when Emma didn't continue.

She took a deep breath, before answering, "Dad loves April more than me," her voice not louder than a whisper and her eyes fixed on her hands in her lap.

"What?" Lorelai asked incredulously, "That's not true, Em! Dad loves you just as much, if not more."

Emma shook her head vehemently and was unable to contain her tears anymore. "It is true!" she said loudly through her sobs, "and it's not fair, 'cause I was here first! She just swoops into our lives and takes my dad from me!"

"Emma," Lorelai exclaimed quietly, "She did not take Luke from you. He's here with you day in, day out. He barely sees April once a month and is lucky if he even gets to talk to her once a week."

Emma shook her head. "Whenever April comes here, dad only has eyes for her. They do things together that she likes and I'm not allowed to come along. He never does that with me. She always gets the special treatment! All I get is him whining over what I do wrong and how I should study more so I can go to Yale like Rory, or Harvard like saint April. Have you guys ever seen my straight A's list?"

"That's not the only thing those Ivy-League colleges look at. Your dad's only concerned. If you want to go to Yale or Harvard…"

"I don't want to go to Harvard," Emma said snidely, emphasizing 'Harvard' as though it was a dirty word.

"Alright, Yale then," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes, "if you want to go to Yale you gotta do more than watch TV," she said pointedly.

"I know," Emma said softly with a sigh, "I don't know I want to, though. I know it's some sort of family thing and Grandma and Grandpa would probably kill me, but I'm not like Rory, April or Rick. I don't like to study. Besides, you and Dad didn't go to university and you both turned out fine. I might go to college, maybe, I'm just not sure an Ivy-League school is for me,"

Lorelai smiled at her daughter. "That's alright, kid," she said as she put a string of her dark curls behind her ear. "You still have enough time to decide."

Emma nodded and let out a relieved breath, "So you're not mad?"

"Why would I be mad?" Lorelai asked surprised.

"I thought you wanted me to go to an Ivy-League school? I just assumed you'd be mad when you found out that I didn't want to," Emma said, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and lifting one shoulder in a shrug.

"Of course I'm not mad! I want you to do whatever you want to do. Be a clown, be a ballerina, whatever, just as long as it's what _you_ want to do," Lorelai said, with a small laugh.

"And Dad?" she wondered aloud.

"Dad too. Trust me," Lorelai said confidently.

Emma gave her mother a watery smile and threw herself into Lorelai's arms again, "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she chanted, as she clung to Lorelai, hugging her tightly.

"Of course, sweets," Lorelai laughed, as she pulled back to look into the red eyes of her beautiful daughter, "and about April ... I think your dad still feels a bit guilty for not being there the first twelve years of her life, but you should talk to him about that, okay?"

"Okay," Emma said more confidently than she felt.

Lorelai kissed her cheek and ran her hand over her hair, before she stood up to leave the room. "I'll send him up," she said as she opened the door and Emma nodded.

* * *

Luke peeked his head into the open door. "Your mom said you wanted to talk to me?" he asked her, trying to sound neutral.

"Well, basically she told me to talk to you, but sure, come in," Emma said, keeping her eyes on her phone, as Luke walked into the room, fidgeting with his hands and looking around nervously.

"So," Luke said, drawing out the word, ready to start a conversation with his daughter, while keeping his temper in check.

"I suppose Mom told you what we talked about?" she asked before he could continue speaking.

"Um, no. She wouldn't say. She said it was yours to decide what you wanted to tell me and what not," Luke said and Emma looked up from her phone in surprise.

Luke took her desk-chair, placed it near her bed and sat down. "I assume this talk was bound to happen, right?" he said with a nervous laugh, "Can't avoid it anymore,"

"I suppose not," Emma said casually, while typing something on her phone, followed by a buzzing sound that announced a received massage.

"Emma," Luke sighed, "Please put that phone away and tell my why you hate April so much."

"I don't hate her," Emma said, looking at her father.

"Fine, then tell me why you dislike her," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

Emma sighed hard and placed her phone on her nightstand, "come on, Dad. You and I both know she's your favorite."

"What?" Luke asked, taken aback by her words, "She's not my 'favorite'! I don't do favorites!"

"Well, you certainly do a great job at showing that," Emma said sarcastically.

"Emma!" Luke gasped, her tone hurting him right in the core. They were used to Rick speaking to them like that, but Emma was always very in control, very sweet, apart from when she spoke to April.

"No, dad! Don't 'Emma' me!" she said loudly, "Whenever she's here, she gets your undivided attention. You don't care about the rest of us. You ask what _she_ wants to do, what she wants to eat, and you do whatever she tells you to. Remember last time, when you guys went to that stupid biology museum? I asked to come, didn't I? I asked, but you said 'no'!" Emma ranted in a way that could easily beat her father, the rant-King.

"I thought you wouldn't like that," Luke whispered as he hung his head.

"You're right, I wouldn't," Emma continued her rant, "but you don't like museums or biology either. We could have gone there together, mocking everything, while April's being all serious about her future and stuff. We could have had fun. You would probably have had more fun with a mocking-companion there,"

"Yeah, that would have been fun," Luke said sadly, looking up at her, "So you feel like I've been neglecting you when April's here?"

"It's just … I had you for myself for five years. I was your little girl, your only little girl and you adored me," Emma said as the tears started to run down her cheeks for the third time that morning. "I remember that day when I sat at the diner table, drawing, and this cheerful girl with a crazy bike helmet came to sit with me, admiring my 'art', as she called it. I really liked her, until that crazy, pink-helmeted girl stole my father from me."

"Yeah, I was pretty self-centered that time," Luke said, his face flushing a bit, "and trust me, your mom made that very clear to me. Bad times."

"Not just then, Dad. It's still that way. You don't really involve any of us when April's here. Okay, maybe Mom, but not Rick and me. And when she's not here, it's 'April this and April that'." Emma swallowed as her voice started to break and she had trouble speaking due to her sobs, "I used to be your only little girl and then she comes in and I'm not anymore. I hate her for that. I know that's selfish, I'm selfish that way, but …"

Luke moved from the chair to her bed and Emma immediately put her arms around him as her tears dampened his flannel. "It's okay. It's okay," Luke said as he stroked her back with one hand and her hair with the other, "Shh, it's okay,"

When she dialed down a bit, Luke said, while still holding her close to him, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never meant for you to feel that way. It's just … I've missed out on so much with April, you know?" he felt her nodding against his flannel cladded chest and continued, "I feel like, if I don't make her feel at home here, she'll just leave. She lived without me for twelve years, she could easily live without me again, while, with you, I've been so lucky to have seen it all, to have seen you grow up, to be one of the people you rely on most. I feel safe that I won't ever lose you."

Emma pulled back and shook her head, "No, Dad, you won't lose me, but you know what? You won't lose April either. You have a way of worming your way into someone's heart. She loves you. Mom once said: 'Once Luke Danes is in your life, he's in your life forever'," she shrugged her shoulders, "April feels the same."

Luke smiled. "You're pretty confident about this, aren't you?" When Emma nodded, he said in a sincere tone, "Thanks, kid."

"I love you, Daddy," Emma said in a choked voice.

"I love you too, Emmy," Luke said, a warm feeling floating through him at her words.

"So I should involve you in April and mine museum-visits, huh?" he asked, jokingly, trying to relieve some of the tension.

Emma shook her head and smiled at him, "Nah, you don't have to involve me in your April-time, but you could do something fun with me some time, you know, just you and me."

"That would be nice," Luke said, smiling at the daughter that looked so much like Lorelai, apart from the color of her eyes and her nose, those were his eyes and his nose. He trailed his finger over her nose, like he did when she was just a baby and asked, "How about Wednesday? You get out of school early and I can get the day off."

"Perfect," Emma cried happily and she hugged her father again quickly.

He placed a kiss on her cheek and got up. "I'm gonna go, so you can go back to your important conversation," he said as he pointed to her phone, "seriously, that thing just won't stop buzzing, popular girl," Luke teasingly shook his head.

Emma beamed at him and he walked to the door. Before he exited the room, he looked back to see Emma vehemently typing on her phone with a broad smile on her face, and he couldn't help but smile himself.

* * *

"And? How was it? What did she say?" Lorelai immediately started interrogating when Luke walked down the stairs. He walked right past her, sat on the couch and buried his face in his hands. "Hon, what is it?" Lorelai asked concerned as she sat down next to him and put her arm around his back, stoking his shoulder tenderly.

When Luke looked up at her, she saw the tears running down his face and she swallowed at the sight. "I've been trying to catch up with twelve lost years with one of my daughters and it turns out I've been neglecting the other. What the hell is wrong with me?" Luke asked.

"Nothing's wrong with you, Luke," Lorelai said reassuringly as she rubbed her right hand over his right bicep, while still stroking his left shoulder with the other, "You've not neglected Emma. Trust me, I was here,"

Luke shook his head, "She seems to feel that way."

"She said that?" Lorelai asked doubtfully.

Luke thought for a moment and wiped his tears away with his hands, "No, I suppose it's only when April's here. Though, she does think that I talk about her too much, maybe even eulogize her, or something, and she's kinda jealous that April and I go out together, but not her and me.

"Understandable," Lorelai said as she nodded.

"What?" Luke asked shocked, "How is it understandable? I didn't even know Emma still wanted to hang out with her old man! I thought she was too cool for that now,"

Lorelai laughed, 'Hon, she's a thirteen year old girl. She might act all tough, but seriously, she's still anxious to hang with her father every now and then; talk, joke, laugh, get spoiled …" she shrugged her shoulders and let her right hand fall to his thigh, squeezing it gently. "Every young girl feels that way," she said by way of explanation.

"Really?" Luke asked as he adjusted his hat.

"Well, yeah," Lorelai said a bit surprised that he didn't know that. "Remember Rory with Christopher? All she wanted was a little attention from him and she was disappointed every time he let her down. And even I wanted some alone time with dad every now and then."

"I'll remember that," he said, looking into her bright blue eyes, her polite smile very apparent in them, "But what on earth could Emma and I do together?"

"Well, let's see. She likes to play sports and you like sports … No, you're right. This is too difficult. I have no idea. Hm, maybe we should call Doctor Phil, huh?" Lorelai said teasingly, rolling her eyes.

Luke laughed slightly at her antics and placed his hand on top of hers on his thigh, before he shook his head and squeezed her hand a bit. "Correction: she used to like to play sports and I used to love to play with her. Now she just likes to lie on the couch and watch TV," he said sadly.

Lorelai snorted, "Hon, really, have you ever seen her grades?" When Luke nodded, his face confused, not knowing what her grades had anything to do with this, Lorelai simply said, "She has an A for gym."

"Ye-es," Luke said slowly when it was apparent she wasn't going to expand in her explanation.

As she moved her hand from his shoulder to tap it playfully on the top of his baseball cap, she laughed at his ignorance and said, "Trust me, no girl gets an A in gym if she's not completely into it. I mean, look at me. Look at Rory. Look at _April_. Hell, even look at Ross Geller! 'Math: A; Science: A; History: A; Gym…'" She rattled off in her best Ross Geller impression and paused a little while to think, while Luke chuckled at her ability to once again make good use of her interest for the TV. "Okay, now I know Ross is not a girl," she continued, trying to defend her argument, "but in this case, he might as well be!"

"Sure," Luke said amused.

"Anyway, I never thought I'd produce a girl that's into sports," Lorelai told Luke, "Or that I would ever admit that my own daughter's a sports fan, for that matter, but Emma … She's a lot more like you than you think."

"You think?" Luke asked.

"I know," she said confidently. When Luke still looked doubtfully, she continued, "She might have my ability to talk your ears off, but when something's bothering her, she's a silent sufferer until she finally snaps, like you; she hates it when people get too involved in her private life, like you, though she's a bit more polite about defending her honor; she's very generous and always willing to help others, just like you, while I'm way more selfish; and Hon, she's really into sports and that, without a doubt, is all you."

Luke shook his head, showing that he was not convinced, "You know that she told me a few years ago she didn't want to play anymore."

Lorelai let out a laugh, "Oh, Lucky Luke, you were obsessed. You wanted to play ball day in, day out. It became a commitment instead of just something fun to do with her dad and big bro. You were a _little_ over-enthusiastic. And when I say 'a little', what I really mean is 'a lot'. But that doesn't mean she doesn't want to go back on the field every now and then to sweat and sweat and sweat until you'll die of the stench if you get to close to her. Really, why anyone would want to do that beats me, but she does. So, just ask her!"

Luke looked at Lorelai's face, watching every little detail with an amused smile as she spoke. "I'll ask her," he said with a nod, "Thank you," he said and leaned in to press a kiss on her lips. "Don't ever call me 'Lucky Luke' again," he said slowly as he pulled back, but Lorelai just smiled.

Luke looked at his watch. "Well, time surely goes fast when you're having fun," he said sarcastically, followed by an eye role that earned a giggle from Lorelai. When he looked sternly at her, she quickly made her giggle into an unconvincing cough and smiled contently at him.

Luke got up as he mumbled, "This is not how I pictured my morning off, damn it."

Lorelai looked up at him with a pout and said sarcastically, "Sure, let me spread my legs for you again," When Luke turned to look at her with a shocked expression on his face, before quickly looking around to see if they were alone and beamed at him, pleased that she had made him uncomfortable.

"Don't talk about it that way again. It sounds wrong," Luke said sternly, pointing a finger at her.

Lorelai also got up, placed her hands on his chest and leaned into him. "I'm not your Vivian Ward, you know," she whispered.

"Who?" Luke asked confused.

Lorelai pecked his lips, before she stated, "'Pretty Woman, Hon."

"Ah, geez!" Luke said as he remembered the movie and he quickly turned around. He walked directly towards the door, grabbing his keys and wallet on his way out, as he ignored the evident pat on his ass. He slammed the door loudly shut, leaving Lorelai behind in a fit of giggles, her hands pressed on her stomach and bending over from laughter.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Lorelai sat on the couch, her feet propped up on the coffee table and a book in her hand. However, she had not read one page since sitting down, her mind elsewhere; she rested her head back and gazed intently at the opposite wall of the living room.

She heard the front door shut and then two big feet padding across the hall and into the kitchen. As Rick passed the door to the living room on his way, Lorelai called out to him, "Hey!"

"Hey," Rick grunted back, as he made his way into the kitchen.

"How was work?" Lorelai called.

"Good," he said monosyllabically, as he grabbed a Coke can from the fridge and headed for the stairs.

Lorelai let out a small laugh, rolling her eyes "Oy!" Rick stopped in his tracks, turning around to face her, a confused expression on his face. "Come talk to me," Lorelai said softly, patting the couch cushion next to her.

Rick let out an exhausted sigh, and made his way over to her, plopping down onto the couch with a groan, "Okaaay," Lorelai smiled at him, "Thank you," she said sincerely, eyeing him as he played with his hands. "So how come you were so late getting back?"

Rick hesitated for a moment, trying to remember the alibi he had decided on, "Oh, I did a couple of hours for Tom after my shift at Gypsy's," he supplied smoothly.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were working for Tom again?" Lorelai questioned, when Rick simply nodded, his face looking down towards his lap, she continued, "Don't work too hard though, okay? You'll have plenty of time for that later in life, believe me!" She covered his hands with hers and squeezed gently.

Lorelai eyed him suspiciously, "So what's with this silence thing you've got going on here? This morning you wouldn't shut up and now you can barely string a sentence together. I have to say it's freaking me out a little," she giggled. Rick smirked and let out a soft, muffled laugh, but he made no attempt to move his gaze.

Concern suddenly began to fill Lorelai, there was something troubling him, something he wasn't telling her, she could sense it. "Honey, are you okay?" she asked tenderly, sweeping the pads of her thumb across the back of his hand.

Rick was silent for a moment, mesmerized by the movement of her thumbs against his hands, a million thoughts whirring around his brain. "It's nothing, really. Honestly Mom, I'm fine," he said, shrugging his shoulders dismissively, he lifted his gaze to look at her and was met with a look that was laced with concern.

"You promise?" she asked worriedly, her eyes wide.

"I promise," he repeated slowly, nodding his head slightly.

An awkward silence fell on the room. Rick gave a sweeping glance around the room before standing up, causing Lorelai's hands to abruptly fall onto the couch. "I'll, uh, be upstairs," he mumbled, gesturing to the ceiling before making his way out of the room.

"Oy," Lorelai called softly.

Rick slowly spun around to face her, his lanky body leaning tiredly on the doorframe, "Is that your new favorite word or something?"

Lorelai giggled slightly before saying, "Kiss the Mommy before you go," tapping her index finger against her cheek with a smile.

Rick dropped his forehead into his palm while sighing, "Mom!"

Lorelai pouted at him, "Aw, come on, you can't deny me my Ricky love!" she teased playfully, attempting to lighten the mood.

"Fine, but only if you stop calling it that," he grumbled, as he made his way back over to the couch and reluctantly bent down, allowing her to kiss his cheek. As he began to walk towards the door, Lorelai grabbed his hand to stop him and held it between both of hers. Rick looked at her questioningly over his shoulder, his eyebrow raised slightly.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" she asked tenderly, tilting her head upwards to look into his bright blue eyes which looked so much like her own, willing him to understand the sincerity in her statement.

Rick nodded solemnly, "Yeah, I do," he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before heading for the stairs again

Lorelai watched him walk upstairs until she couldn't see him anymore and listened as she heard his bedroom door close, before she leaned back into the couch cushions with a sigh and turned her attention to her book.

* * *

**A/N: Your many words of love and kindness and other praises are very welcome, but we are also very open to critic, so please, leave a review. We, ourselves, might think we rock, but mainly we are very curious of what you guys think. Thanks!**

**Also, as vacation time is coming up, we found out that our schedules don't match at all. We'll do our very best to keep writing, but it might take a while for chapter two to be uploaded. We apologize in advance and thank you so much for reading this chapter.**

**Finally, to all of you travelers out there -Safe trip and have fun!**


	2. Chapter 2: What's with all the secrets?

**A/N: (Long, again, they won't all be like this I promise!)**

**I would like to start off by thanking all of you who followed/favourited/reviewed our story. Especially to Jules and Mags for having the kindness to read and review (!) our first chapter; it meant the world to us!**

**Mo, now I'm afraid this probably won't be as eloquent as yours but I'll have a go. Firstly, I would like to thank you for having the patience to read and answer my hundreds of emails, consider my insane ideas and respond to my endless array of stupid questions. (Lorelai was right; there are stupid questions) All, while trying to enjoy your holiday. For that you are a true saint. **

**I have enjoyed writing the second chapter as much as the first. I love that our writing styles complement each other so perfectly. I never thought I would enjoy writing with someone else as much as I have! I love that this has made our friendship stronger than ever and I can't wait to meet you next year! You are truly talented and it has been a joy working with you.**

**Lastly, I want to thank you for your extremely kind praise but also for your instrumental critique; not only in this project but in my own. Honestly, you are the perfect writing partner.**

**- N **

* * *

**Chapter 2: What's with all the secrets?**

Luke bounded up the stairs in sweatpants, sneakers, a Red Sox t-shirt and, of course, his worn blue baseball hat. When he reached the landing, he found Emma's bedroom door ajar and through the crack could see that she was working at her desk.

Luke walked into her bedroom, calling "Em, you ready to go?"

At Luke's words Emma practically threw herself onto the desk, trying desperately hard to conceal what she had been working on.

Luke jumped slightly at her sudden movement, "Geez, Emma! What was that for?" he said, laughing slightly.

Emma swiveled around in her desk chair, unskillfully hiding what was on her desk with her body. "Nothing," she replied innocently, flashing him a bright smile.

"And, so that epileptic seizure you just had there was … ?" he asked sarcastically, as he began to make his way further into the room, trying to get a peek at what was on her desk.

"Nothing!" Emma insisted. As Luke made his way further into the room, Emma exclaimed "Dad!" as she swiftly spun round and slammed her sketch book shut.

When Luke arrived at her desk, he caught a glimpse of the black, spiral bound sketch book that Emma was now attempting to cover under the various items that littered her desk.

Luke let out a laugh, leaning over and making a grab for the book "Come on, Emmy, show me," he said playfully. Emma lunged for his arm and put all her body weight into forcing him away from the desk, "Dad, stop!" she said forcefully but a small giggle escaped her.

"Come on, you're really not going to show me?" he said disappointedly, placing his hands on his hips and looking down at her, sticking his bottom lip out slightly in a pout.

Emma rolled her eyes at his antics, "You've been around Mom too long," causing Luke to laugh. Emma looked over at her sketch book nervously and traced the edges of it with her finger softly, "I don't know, it's embarrassing," she murmured.

"Embarrassing?" Luke asked perplexedly, "It's a book. What's embarrassing about a book?"

"It's not a book, Dad," Emma sighed and began pulling the sketch book from its position under the pile of rubble on her desk. "It's a sketch pad," she stated simply, running her hand over the cover affectionately.

"A sketch pad? Like, drawings and stuff?" he asked incredulously.

"Well, yeah. Drawings, paintings, mixed media, whatever really," she said with a shrug, not meeting his eyes.

"Well, let me see," he said calmly, reaching for the sketch book.

Emma let out a small laugh, "Uh, no way!" she scoffed before getting up from the chair grasping the pad tightly in her hands, walking to the other end of the room and wrapping her arms protectively around the sketch pad. She looked up at Luke with a determined and almost scared look.

"Emmy, come on, please?" he implored, dragging out the last word, as he walked slowly towards her. Emma shook her head vehemently, hugging the sketch pad closer to her. Luke stopped and frowned slightly, "Why don't you want to show me?" he asked tenderly, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

Emma locked eyes with her Dad, in an almost silent plea. She wasn't completely sure why she was so against showing him, it just wasn't something she had ever done before. She suddenly felt more vulnerable than she had felt in a long time. "It's just … what if you don't like it?" she spoke softly and almost childlike.

The fear in her voice made Luke's heart melt and he made a feeble attempt at lightening the mood. "What, me? What do I know about art? Hell, you could slap some colored goo on a canvas, call it art and I'd think it was great!" he said dryly, with a soft chuckle.

Emma giggled quietly and then lifted her gaze from her sketch pad to his eyes again. She held his gaze for a moment before making a decision, "Okay," she breathed.

Luke released a pleased breath, "Really?"

"Yes," she said slowly and unconvincingly, "but you have to promise not to laugh!" she said warningly, pointing a finger at him and walking slowly over to where he stood.

Luke scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Em, I'm not gonna laugh! Why would I laugh?"

"Well, I don't know, do I? Just don't do it!" she said, as she handed him the sketch book.

Luke smiled encouragingly, as he took the pad from her grudging hold. Emma covered her face with her hands, bracing herself for his reaction. He held it for a moment, admiring the front cover, before turning it to look at the first page.

Luke let out a small gasp, whispering "Wow," dragging out the word in genuine awe. He wasn't entirely sure what he was expecting to see, but whatever it was, it wasn't this. The painting consisted of a lake, with water plants in the foreground, a forest in the background and a row of snowy mountains that towered over it all. What struck Luke the most was the realism of the painting; this was no amateur drawing. It was amazing.

Luke slowly looked up and into his daughters worried eyes, "Emmy … this is … _incredible_" he spoke softly, the pride evident in his voice.

Emma exhaled deeply in relief, her eyes suddenly moist, "Really?" she asked dazed.

"Yes! Are you kidding? This is amazing, Emmy!" Luke exclaimed, causing her to chuckle quietly.

"You've only seen one yet, I'd hold up on your opinion until you've seen the rest," Emma said pointedly with a smile.

Luke began to look through the rest of the pages in her sketch pad, every now and then a soft "whoa" would escape his lips. As he came towards the end of the sketch book, Emma started to relax, occasionally commentating on her drawings. Explaining to him the medium she had used, different techniques she had applied and the artists she had been inspired by.

The great delight that she showed made Luke smile. He couldn't remember the last time he had heard her talking about something this passionately that wasn't a TV show.

"And this," she said timidly, as he turned over the last page, "is my most recent drawing,"

"Emmy!" he breathed, as he stared at the drawing intently, taking in every inch of it. The last picture was a pencil drawn portrait of Lorelai. Her smile wide, and the skin crinkling at her eyes, he knew the exact photo that she had drawn from and sighed happily. "This looks just like her," he said softly, still in awe.

Emma laughed, "Yeah, well, that was the general idea," she responded dryly.

Luke rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to the portrait, a smile spreading across his face. He carefully shut the pad, turning it over in his hands so that the front cover was facing upwards and exhaled deeply. He tried to find the right words to express his amazement but he came up short, stumbling slightly as he spoke, "It's … they're … phenomenal,"

Emma blushed slightly, ducking her head and then looking up into his dark blue eyes with a smile, "Thank you, Daddy," she said sincerely, as she gently took the sketch pad from his clutches and held it protectively again.

An awkward silence hung over the room, Emma shifted her feet from side to side staring at the floor and Luke folded his arms over his chest, fixing her with a soft stare. "How long have you been doing, uh, well, this," he asked pointing to the sketch pad in her arms.

"About three years," she said softly, not meeting his gaze, "I mean, I've been drawing for as long as I can remember, but I really got into art when I was about ten," she expanded.

Luke stood in shock and ran his hand over his face "Three years, … wow" When Emma simply nodded in response, Luke continued "So do you have more?" he asked lamely, motioning to the sketch pad again.

Emma took a deep breath and then placing her sketch pad on the bed, moved towards her small walk-in closet. Luke saw her kneel down inside and grope around blindly for something in the back. She came out carrying a large cardboard box and placed it on the bed, struggling under the weight of it. Luke peered into the box as Emma walked back into the closet rummaging around for something else. The box was filled to the brim with sketch pads, all different sizes and each with differently decorated front covers.

Emma came out with another smaller box, giving Luke a shy smile before placing it on the bed also. This smaller box was filled with a large assortment of fairly worn paintbrushes, acrylic paints, watercolors, oil paints, sketching pencils, putty erasers, pastels, chalks, charcoal and any other art supply you could think of. "This is pretty much it," she said with a shrug, "Oh!" she gasped in recognition before rummaging around in her school bag which had been unceremoniously dumped on the floor when she had gotten home. She stood up, holding two sketch books. One that was the size of a small notebook and another which was less than half the size of the first.

"I like to keep one with me, you never know when inspiration will strike; or boredom for that matter," she added with a smile, thinking about all the math classes she had spent 'doodling'.

"Right, yeah" Luke said awkwardly, his arms crossed and a slight frown creased his face. _Why had she kept this from him?_ He thought sadly.

Emma bent down at the waist, placing her small sketch books back into her school bag. Luke opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Emma, "You wanna go now, then?" she asked over her shoulder as she carried the boxes back into her closet.

"Uh yeah, let's go," he said, smiling at her and trying to sound brighter than he felt; wrapping his arm around her, he gave her shoulder a light squeeze.

* * *

Luke and Emma rode to the sport fields in silence, both lost in thought. Luke looked sideways at his smiling daughter as if he was seeing her for the first time. How was it possible that she had gone from a lazy, uncaring pretty girl to a young, sporty and artistic beautiful woman in just one day?

Emma turned towards him and looked at him questioningly, "What?" she asked with a laugh.

"Nothing," Luke said quickly before turning his gaze back to the road.

"Then why are you looking at me like you're Hannibal Lecter and you're about to eat me?" Emma asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Now, that's just wrong," Luke grumbled.

Emma smirked as she looked out of the front window, searching for signs of where they were going, "I know, but I couldn't come up with a better reference so quickly."

Luke shook his head and muttered, "Anyone ever tell you, you don't _have_ to make references?"

"Now, where's the fun in that?" Emma shot back innocently as she looked at him, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"You've been spending way too much time with your Mom." Luke glanced at his daughter quickly and saw the broad smile on her face, lighting her eyes as they would do her mother's, only these were his eyes.

Emma's grin widened, if that was even possible. "Funny. I believe I told you the exact same thing not an hour ago,"

"Maybe we should just kick her out for a little while, find our own identities back, huh? What do you think?" Luke asked in a serious tone.

"Yeah right," Emma laughed loudly, "like you could ever do that. You like her way too much!"

"True," Luke nodded.

"Me too," Emma said in all seriousness and Luke turned to her with a knowing nod. "You too, you know," Emma said softly after a short silence.

Luke laughed a bit, "I like you too, kid."

"No, I mean," Emma continued, "the things I said a few days ago, about you favoring April over me …" when Luke nodded, she continued, "I didn't really mean them, I was just jealous."

"No, you were right," Luke said, as his cheeks turned slightly pink, "I have been giving April too much attention when she's home, trying to placate her, or something. Just … trying too hard. I'm sorry and," he turned his head towards Emma, "and thank you for making me aware of that."

Emma nodded, looked out front again and took a short break. "I just want you to know…" she almost whispered, regaining Luke's attention, "I don't think you're a bad Dad, or anything. In fact, I think you're a great Dad,"

His recently reduced pinkish color suddenly came back. "Thanks, Em," he said happily.

"You're the best. The best of the best," she continued.

"Stop," Luke growled, "you're making me blush,"

"The best father in the world, in the universe!" Emma continued shamelessly teasing.

"We seriously gotta cut some of your Mom-time. It's doing you no good. No more shopping!" Luke said sternly. "And this way I save some money also," he mumbled.

"No! Dad, no! That's not fair!" Emma screeched dramatically, "Fine, I'll take it back! I take it all back, okay? You suck. Happy?"

"Very," Luke said dryly as his pink color and warm feeling began to fade again.

"You know Dad, you're Pretty in Pink," Emma said with a cheeky smile.

"What?" Luke asked confused.

"Your face. It turns all pink when you're embarrassed."

"Geez," Luke added, the color in his face rising again.

"See? Now _that_ was a good reference," Emma said laughingly and Luke simply shook his head as he turned a corner.

After a little while, Emma asked, "Now, tell me where we're going,"

"Yes, my Queen," Luke said sarcastically, "whatever you say, my Queen,"

"Sorry," Emma smirked. "My always loving daddy, sweet father of mine, blood that I stem from, could you please, with cherries on top, tell me where we're going?" she asked in a sweet voice, batting her eyelashes at him.

Luke sighed, ignoring the Gilmore-y antics inside her, and answered simply, "We're going to play some ball,"

"What kind of ball," Emma wanted to know.

"Baseball," Luke answered with a shrug of his shoulders as though that was very clear. He thought for a little moment, before he asked, "You still like baseball, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah, I love it. Like old times, right?" Emma quickly answered enthusiastically, "I do like soccer better though,"

"Soccer, huh?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," Emma said with a grin, "I'm pretty good at it, actually. I mean, I'm no pro, but I'm the best of the entire school-team. The girls-team, of course," she added with a laugh.

"You made the school-team?" Luke asked surprised with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Um, not really," Emma answered awkwardly, "there aren't enough soccer-girls to form an official school-team, so we just play during breaks and after school and stuff," She shrug her shoulders, "it's fun,"

"I see," Luke said thoughtfully, "well, maybe next time we could play some soccer together?"

"Great," Emma squealed enthusiastically, as they arrived at the baseball-fields.

* * *

"Don't we need gloves? How are we gonna catch the ball without gloves?" Emma asked, not understanding.

"We don't need gloves," Luke said rationally.

"Why not? Aren't we going to work on my throw? It's been a while, you know," Emma said.

"We don't need gloves," Luke repeated, looking down at her hobbling beside him excitingly.

"Why not? Dad! Where are we going? The fields are over there," Emma said completely confused, pointing with her left index finger to the fields.

Luke looked to his left, his eyes widening, "Oh, yes. Indeed they are," he said dryly as he continued on with his path.

"Dad! You're starting to annoy me! Tell me, please?"

"You'll see," Luke said as he turned the corner and the batting cages came in view. "Look," he said pointing at them.

"The batting cages?" Emma asked doubtfully.

"Yep," Luke simply said, an enjoying smile playing on his face.

"I get to go into the cages?" Emma asked hopefully now.

"Yep," he answered again.

"And I actually get to swing the bat?" she continued her quest.

Luke looked at her. "Of course," he said raising one eyebrow in confusion.

"You always said I was too young. I'm not too young anymore?"

"Nope," Luke said laughingly.

Emma let out a very female cry of happiness and he put his arm around her shoulder, as they continued walking to the reserved cage, the coins for the ball-machine crinkling in the pocket of his worn jeans.

* * *

"Do I really have to go into the 'beginners' one?" Emma whined.

"Yes, you do," Luke answered simply for the fourth time.

"But why-hy?" Emma continued in a whiney voice, dragging out the last word as a little kid would do when their parents denied them something.

Luke easily kept his patience, enjoying the effect his monosyllable-self had on her. "Because, that's where a person starts out," he explained as he fastened the helmet on her head, her long curls tied together in a lose ponytail at the nape of her neck and draping all over her back, almost reaching her hips.

"Do you really think I'm that bad? You know, I may be a lot like Mom, but I think I've proven that I inherited _your_ sports-gene, not hers. I won't be as bad as Mom!"

Luke laughed, "No one will be as bad as your Mom. Except maybe Rory, although I do think she gave it a few more attempts, just to make me happy, than Lorelai did."

"Wait," Emma asked, distracted from her attempts to move to a higher level, "you actually brought Mom here?"

Luke nodded, "Once. And never again," he quickly added.

"Why, what happened?" Emma asked amused, knowing her mother well enough.

"Well, she had seen some ball on TV, because I watch ESPN and she told me she liked to watch 'the muscled guys'," he used his fingers to make quotation marks, "swing a bat, so she wanted to watch me. After I swung a few, I eventually got her to try out the baby cages. I explained her what she had to do and she said she was totally ready. The machine spit out one ball, which, don't ask me _how_, but it hit her leg and she was done. Of course, she blamed me," Luke continued with a smirk remembering how much he had made fun of her that day. "She made me make it up to her by cooking her a fancy dinner _for once_ and afterwards …," he quickly stopped, remembering who he was talking to as his cheeks and ears turned red and he was unable to keep the cocky smile from his face.

"Ew, Dad!" Emma said in a disgusted voice, after she'd been laughing at the story of her mother's inability to play sports.

"What?" he asked innocently, "You don't wanna know the story of your conception?"

Emma gasped, expecting this from her mother, not her father, as she screamed, "Gross!"

"You're right, sorry. It was Rick's conception," he corrected himself with a smirk.

"Oh God," Emma exclaimed dramatically as she covered her ears with her hands.

Luke shook his head as he laughed and removed one hand from her ear, "Sorry. I'm done,"

"Thank you," Emma said relieved. "Geez Dad, what has gotten into you?"

When Luke opened his mouth to answer her question, a smile marking his face, Emma quickly squealed, "Don't answer that!" knowing what her mother would have answered and Luke laughed.

"Seriously, though, Dad. Why can't I go into the 'advanced' cages?" Emma asked, successfully changing the subject.

Luke cleared his throat, returning to his serious self with the same color in his face as Emma. "Well," he began, "first I wanna see your natural swing and then I wanna see if I can improve it. That's what the 'beginners' cages are for," he shrugged his shoulder as she nodded her understanding. "If you're really as good as you think you are, we'll upgrade quickly. You ever swung a bat at school?" he asked.

"Not really," Emma answered with a grin.

"Alright, here's your bat," he said as he handed her the smaller, lighter one. "Let's start, shall we?" Luke asked enthusiastically.

Emma let out a giggle as she said, "Yes, let's shall," which earned an eye roll from Luke.

"Alright. Here we go. Looks like your natural grip is good. Right hand on top, 'cause you're right-handed and always make sure your hands are touching. Your left hand must only lightly touch the nob of the bat," Luke explained.

Emma nodded as she moved her right hand a little lower so it touched her left one. "Should we stand at the home plate?" she asked.

"Yeah, that seems like a great spot if you actually wanna hit the ball, seeing as that's where the ball will go," Luke said dryly.

Emma sighed and rolled her eyes, "I meant … Never mind!" she said exasperatedly.

Luke laughed, "I know what you meant. Let's go."

Emma walked over to the plate and put her left foot in a straight line with the left side of the plate as she placed her right foot at length of the pointed side of the plate. "Like this, right?" she asked, looking hopefully at Luke.

"Yes, very good," he said with a smile, "Both feet should be shoulder width apart, like that," he gave a nod towards her feet. "Now," he continued, "Flex both your knees a little bit, but flex your right knee a little extra, so your weight is moved to your right side, to give the ball extra speed," he said as he gave her right knee a small pat and she did as instructed. "Excellent," he said, laying his hand gently on her shoulder.

"You know, Dad, If I didn't know any better, I thought you'd be hitting on me right now," Emma said with a laugh.

"Geez!" Luke said as he quickly removed his hand from her shoulder and took a step back, even though he wasn't even touching her apart from his hand.

Emma laughed louder at his jumpy movement. "What?" she asked innocently, looking at him from over her shoulder, "That's how it works in movies!" she explained.

"You and your movies," Luke grumbled as he shook his head and took a step towards her again, "This is just the best way to explain it. And trust me, if I was hitting on someone, I would stand a _lot_ closer, like in those movies."

Emma smirked, "I'm sure that's what you did when you brought Mom here. Totally took advantage of her fragile, non-sporty state."

"Yeah, I thought we dropped that subject," Luke said the color in his face rising for what seemed like the millionth time that day.

"Sorry," Emmy quickly said. "Continue, please."

"Okay," Luke quickly continued, "As you begin your swing, your hips move forward, your left foot steps towards the pitcher, or in this case, the machine and your right foot starts to turn ninety degrees as the pitch comes in, so you come up on the ball on your right foot."

Emma nodded and started swaying from right to left, trying out the things Luke had just said.

Luke laughed, "Now, who's hitting on who? Swaying your butt like that."

"Da-ad!" Emma squealed, turning around to playfully touch the bat to his left side, before she returned to her previous position.

Luke moved his right hand under Emma's right elbow and pushed it upwards a bit. "When you take the stands, your upper-arm must be parallel to the ground," he explained. "In other words, your right elbow should be on shoulder height. Now, move your elbow backwards 'till your hands are on the same length as your right shoulder. Yes, just like that," he said as she did exactly what he meant.

"That is a little uncomfortable, isn't it?" she asked.

"You'll get used to it," he said knowingly, "besides, that's only for when you take the stands, don't worry. You're doing very well."

"I feel like an idiot," she smirked.

"You _are_ my daughter," Luke said with a shrug of his shoulder, "that's what I feel like very often."

"Really?" Emma asked surprised.

"You met your mom?" Luke shot at her, "One of her best entertainment is making me feel uncomfortable."

"You're right," Emma laughed, "I feel for ya," she said as she turned to look at her Dad and gave him a completely failed sympathetic smile.

Luke put his hand on top of her head and turned it towards the plate again. "Back to the game," he grumbled, shaking his head as Emma giggled, "Where were we?"

"I believe we were just about done with the stands," Emma said and Luke nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so when the pitch comes in and you step towards the baseball, you start to swing. If you swing correctly, your arms come to a V when you snap the bat into the ball," Luke waited a little while for her to try the foot, arm combination out and redirected her position where necessary. "Looks very good," he said.

"I told you I got your sport-genes," Emma exclaimed proudly.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't cheer too early. You haven't hit the ball yet," Luke said dryly, his delighted smile betraying his own pride and joy. "Now, hang on," Luke said as he moved to a safe distance, giving her room to really swing the bat. "After you made contact to the ball, you continue your swing all the way through. The bat should stop behind your shoulder."

After Emma swung the bat a few times, Luke walked towards the machine before her and put a few coins in it. "Now remember," he said, "never take your eyes off the ball."

"Got it," Emma said in a serious tone. "Now, get that machine to work," she screeched excitedly.

Luke turned the machine on, and removed himself from the cage. He stood behind her to have a good look. As she missed the first three balls, Luke shouted instructions on what she was doing wrong, which was rewarded with a poorly hit fourth attempt, but at least she hit the ball. The fifth one was also missed, but the next four were all very well hit.

"Five out of ten!" Luke counted, "Not bad for a first attempt. Not bad at all!"

"I had a good teacher," Emma said modestly as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm sure," Luke said with a laugh, "Alright, ten more. If they go well, we'll move to the advanced cages."

"Yay!" Emma supplied happily, literally jumping up and down. Luke shook his head, but laughed aloud at her Gilmore-y enthusiasm.

"You know what?" he asked.

"What?" Emma returned curiously.

"We should have named you 'Gilmore'," he said with a nod as he walked over to put new coins in the machine.

"Yeah," Emma started sarcastically, "'Cause Gilmores are _so_ great at sports."

Luke laughed, "You're right. 'Danes' suits you better," which received a proud, happy grin from Emma, before she continued to work on her swing, with her father as a proud viewer.

* * *

"That was fun, right?" Luke asked as they got back in his old truck, freshly showered.

"Definitely!" Emma agreed. "I especially _loved_ that I got to go into the advanced cages so quickly and had no trouble hitting the ball whatsoever."

"Me too," Luke smirked, "That needs to be celebrated, don't you think?"

"What? You wanna show off a bit more, Mr. I-would-hit-the-ball-out-of-the-park-if-the-cage-h ad-no-back?" Emma asked teasingly.

"Oh, kid," Luke sighed, shaking his head as he started the car, "you should have seen me in my glorious teens and early twenties."

"Sorry, wrong nickname: _Mr. Modesty_," Emma laughed.

"I was better at running though. Sprinting," Luke said, ignoring her teasing.

"You ran?" Emma asked surprised.

"Yeah, in high-school. They called me Butch Danes," Luke laughed.

"Butch?" Emma asked thoughtfully, taking the name into consideration, "Does Mom know that?"

"Of course she does," Luke said confused. "Why?"

Emma smirked slightly, "Well, I expected her to call you that, mock you mercilessly, which, by the way, I plan to do also, _Butch_,"

"Of course you do," he said dryly, rolling his eyes away from her and shaking his head. "I shouldn't have said anything," he mumbled.

"So, _Butch_, tell me_, Butch_, how did you get _Mrs. Butch_ to not mock you with this," Emma asked mockingly, putting emphasize on the word 'Butch' every time she used it.

Luke pretended not to be affected by her teasing and said, "She does, just…" he took a short break as he looked at her and couldn't get the smile off his face, "just not when you kids are around."

"Ew, gross!" Emma yelled, "Geez, Dad! Stop with all the dirty comments already. It's so not like you."

Luke just laughed, out loud this time.

"You totally ruined that for me now," Emma said with a pout.

Luke laughed even harder, "Good," he said. After he calmed down a bit, he said in a serious voice, "but who said I was being dirty?"

"You so were," Emma answered decisively, a disgusted look on her face, but Luke just shrugged his shoulders.

The car was silent for a while, Luke looked over at Emma who appeared to be squirming slightly. Her back arched marginally, so that she could fit her arm behind her back, her knuckles gently kneading her lower back.

"You okay?" Luke asked, concerned. A confused frown dominating his features.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Emma said, waving her hand dismissively, "my backs a little sore, it's just from swinging the bat, no big deal," she shrugged.

"You su-" he began.

"Hey. Where are we going?" Emma asked curiously cutting him off, "Stars Hollow is that way," she pointed to the left, but Luke went to the right lane.

"I thought we were going to celebrate?" Luke said in a monotone voice.

Emma's face perked up. "What did you have in mind?" she asked excitedly.

"Just dinner somewhere," Luke answered with a shrug, still using his uncaring, monotone voice.

Emma rolled her eyes, "We can eat in Stars Hollow."

"We eat there every day. Wouldn't be much of a celebration, would it?"

"Guess not," Emma said pleased.

"Besides, I have a surprise for you, afterwards," Luke added dryly.

"A surprise?!" Emma screeched, "What surprise? Tell me now, please! I hate not knowing!"

"I know," Luke said, "you got that from your Mom,"

"Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" Emma continued bugging him.

"It wouldn't be a surprise then," Luke said innocently.

"I hate surprises! Tell me!" she commanded.

"Geez, Em. You sound just like a thirteen year old girl …"

"I _am_ a thirteen year old girl," Emma said, rolling her eyes.

Luke smirked and looked sideways at her, "I know,"

"So, tell me, what is this …" Emma started, but she was cut off by Luke.

"This seems like a good place to eat, right?" he asked casually.

"Taco Bell?" Emma asked confused, as Luke drove to the parking lot. "Taco BELL?!" she screamed again.

"Yes, Taco Bell," Luke said with a sigh and another roll of his eyes as he stopped the engine. "Please, don't yell that loud. I'd like to keep my hearing," he said dryly as Emma screamed her pleasure.

"I cannot believe, you're actually going to take me to Taco Bell," she said as they stepped into the store. She smirked, "Mom will be so jealous."

"I can't believe it either," Luke mumbled, starting his rant, "but don't think I'm going to do this more often. Just this once! That's already enough to take five years of your life, and I like my life, and yours. Red meat …" he said shaking his head. "And don't think I won't complain the entire time! 'Cause I will! Whether you like it or not."

Emma just laughed, took her father's right wrist and pulled him into the short line to order, jumping up and down from excitement.

* * *

"Ah mah Gah, that was, seriously, the best food ever," Emma said dreamily, seated in Luke's old truck once again.

"Gee, thanks," Luke said dryly.

"Uh, I didn't mean… Not the best food, the best _tacos_," she corrected, "Your burgers are waaay better. Way, way better! Not to mention your fancy food. Your fancy food is so good!" Emma said quickly, turning red at her flap-out.

"It's fine, Em. Glad you liked it," Luke said, giving her a reassuring pat on the knee.

"Sorry," Emma said with a smirk, "so, on with that surprise then?"

Luke laughed, "Yeah, it won't take long to get there," he looked at his watch, "and we still have plenty of time,"

Emma stared out of the window, looking for signs of where they were going. "We're not going to New York, are we?" Emma asked doubtfully after a few minutes, when she saw that her Dad kept following the 'New York City' signs.

"That's where the Yankees stadium is, isn't it?" Luke asked dryly.

Emma whipped her head around, looking at her father wide-eyed and mouth agape, "We're going to a Yankees game?" she asked incredulously.

"That's the plan," Luke nodded in conformation, handing her the tickets.

"That's too much, Dad," Emma said shyly, not really looking at the tickets, "I know I've been acting like a spoiled brat, but I'm a teenager. Don't take it too personally. It's not like you have something to make up to me,"

Luke smiled politely at her, "You don't like going to a baseball game?"

"Of course I do! But it's way too expensive and …" Emma answered, not able to finish her sentence.

"It's not just for you, Emma. I like this too, and I like having someone to go with me. Besides," he added quickly as he saw Emma opening her mouth, probably to protest, "Did you see whom they're playing against?"

Emma looked down at the tickets and smiled, "The Red Sox."

"My Dad used to take me to a lot of Red Sox games. I haven't been to one in ages," he looked at her and continued, "You don't mind going with me, right?"

"No, I'd love to!" Emma said as she scooted over on the bench seat and placed her head on his shoulder with a pleased sigh. "Y'know, Em, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were hitting on me right now," and he smirked as he used her own joke against her.

"Hardy har, har," Emma said as she moved back over to the other end of the bench, shaking her head, but smiling nonetheless.

* * *

Later that evening, Lorelai was doing some last minute tidying up in the kitchen, bending over at the waist to stack the last of the plates into the dishwasher. She straightened up as she heard the front door close and two muffled voices talking animatedly.

"You cannot be serious?" Luke scoffed incredulously from the hall.

"The Yankees came first in the American league last year! The Red Sox only came fifth," Emma argued playfully.

"You can't support a team based on where they came in the league tables," Luke countered, shaking his head as they began to walk in the direction of the kitchen.

Emma tilted her head with a thoughtful expression on her face, she was silent for a moment as if she was thinking deeply, "So you're saying I should base it on the color of their jerseys?" she joked as they entered the kitchen and found Lorelai leaning against the counter and drinking from a large coffee mug.

Luke rolled his eyes, but a smile lit his face, "Yes, Emma, that's exactly what I'm saying," he said dryly.

"Hey, Mom," Emma called happily, walking over to where Lorelai stood and pressing a kiss to her cheek, before walking towards the fridge.

Lorelai gave Luke a questioning glance which he returned with an encouraging smile before walking over to her and placing a kiss to her lips and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Hey, kid! Did you have fun?" Lorelai replied cheerfully.

Emma turned around, a bottle of water now in her hands, she nodded emphatically, smiling at Lorelai in full wattage, "It was great! We had so much fun! And guess where Dad took me, go on, guess," she added encouragingly.

Lorelai placed her index finger to her lips playfully, and tilted her head in much the same way as Emma had done, in a mock thoughtful expression, "Umm, the mall? New York City? Oh, no, wait, I've got it! The moon!?" she guessed playfully.

"No, but close. He took me to Taco Bell!" she exclaimed excitedly, jumping up and down slightly.

"What?!" Lorelai gasped, her eyes wide before she quickly spun around to look at Luke, "You went to Taco Bell?!" Lorelai exclaimed incredulously.

"That's the rumor," Luke said dryly, nodding his head in confirmation.

"You went to Taco Bell? You, Luke Red-Meat-Kills Danes, went to _Taco Bell_?" she questioned teasingly, dragging out the last two words for emphasis.

Luke rolled his eyes, "I was just as shocked," Emma concurred, as she walked towards the kitchen door.

"You've never taken me to Taco Bell!" Lorelai pouted, but Luke simply shrugged in explanation. "My, my, this little girl really has you whipped, doesn't she?" Lorelai said playfully, shaking her head.

Luke sighed and hung his head in defeat. Emma giggled as she walked back over to him and placed a kiss to his scruffy cheek, "Sorry, Daddy, but it's true," she said sweetly.

"I'm never going to live this down, am I?" Luke sighed.

"Nope!" Lorelai supplied.

"I'm going to bed; I've got school tomorrow. Thanks for a great day, Dad!" Emma called as she exited the room and started climbing up the stairs.

"Night, Emmy" Luke called over his shoulder, a smile plastered on his face. He then turned to Lorelai with a shy smile and let out a sigh of relief before moving over to wrap his arms around her waist.

"Hi," he whispered in a low sultry voice, his smile wide and his eyes bright as he leaned in and placed a lingering kiss to her lips. Lorelai hummed her appreciation and sank into the kiss. Luke deepened it further and parted her lips with his, before nibbling playfully on her bottom lip.

After a few moments, Lorelai broke the kiss gently. Her eyes slowly fluttering open to look into his dark blue ones. A smile lit her face, "What was that for?" she questioned, her voice soft.

Luke returned the smile, his arms still wrapped around her waist, "Just … thank you,"

"Anytime," she replied easily.

He then placed a lingering kiss to her lips before walking over to the kitchen table and sitting down with a groan; his knees creaking in protest. Lorelai giggled, walking over to the fridge and pulling out a beer for Luke.

"Here," Lorelai said as she offered him the beer and sat on the chair opposite him, "So, did she enjoy the game?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, she did. Turns out she prefers soccer to ball though, did you know she played soccer?" Luke added as an afterthought.

"Well, yeah, kinda, she's mentioned it a couple of times. She plays at school a lot, right?"

"Apparently so," Luke mumbled, as he stared down at the beer as he twisted the bottle in his hand, a troubled look on his face.

Lorelai frowned in confusion at his abrupt change in tone, "What's wrong?" she asked sincerely, placing a consoling hand on his knee.

"Uh, it's just, I need to tell you something," Luke said hesitantly.

"Tell me what?" she asked worriedly, after a small silence she added, "If you tell me you took her to Sephora as well, this may be grounds for divorce," she joked anxiously.

Luke chuckled, but his gaze remained transfixed on his beer bottle, "I didn't,"

"Luke, come on, what is it?"

"She draws," he breathed.

"Wait. Who, what?" she asked confusedly, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Emma. She's, well, an artist, I guess. And a good one at that," he expanded, a proud smile on his face.

"Okay, I'm officially confused,"

"She's been hiding it for years, Lorelai. How can we not have known? I mean, surely we should have known," he rambled.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down here. I still don't understand. What's Emma been hiding?"

"Her art! The gazillion sketch books and paintbrushes and paints and pencils. I didn't even know that so many art tools existed! And that closet, we have _got_ to check that every once and a while, God knows what else she's been hiding in there!" he ranted, in an almost panicky voice.

"Luke. Stop. Breathe. What do you mean her art? What art?" she implored.

"I walked in on her drawing earlier today. She practically jumped out of her seat when she saw me. And after a _lot_ of persuasion, she finally showed me. Her sketch book was filled with drawings but not just drawings, paintings and pastel drawings too, I think that's what she said anyway," he rambled proudly.

Lorelai couldn't speak, she was still confused on what this sudden revelation actually was, but she felt tears start to sting the back of her eyes, "She," Lorelai began, but trailed off unsure of what to say.

"And they were amazing, Lorelai. I mean, she's really, really talented!" he said in an awed voice, taking her hand in his and squeezing it lightly, "Where she got that from I'll never know," he scoffed.

Lorelai simply stared at him in shock, her eyes glistening. She just couldn't understand it. The one thing she took pride in the most, was her ability to be able to talk to her children about anything, no matter what. "How long?"

Luke exhaled slowly, their eyes locked, "Three years," he stated simply.

Lorelai drew in a sharp breath, her eyes now filling with unshed tears, "Three years?" she exclaimed in quiet astonishment. The thought making her feel slightly queasy. She abruptly rose from her chair, dropping Luke's hand and rushing from the room.

"Lorelai?" Luke called confusedly, "Lorelai, stop, what are you doing?" he called again.

He knew exactly what she was doing.

* * *

Lorelai jogged up the stairs and burst into Emma's room, not bothering to keep quiet. She walked over to her bed, where Emma lay asleep. She sat down next to her with a thump, sending shockwaves through the mattress and causing Emma to stir slightly. Lorelai began poking Emma's shoulder insistently, in a childish manner.

"Em, Em wake up," Lorelai said, and began shaking her slightly, "Emmm," Lorelai sing-songed relentlessly.

"G'way" Emma mumbled sleepily, turning into her pillow and swatting her mother away with a limp hand.

"Emmmy," Lorelai continued turning on the lamp on Emma's nightstand.

"AH! What are you doing?!" Emma exclaimed, dramatically covering her eyes with her arms to block out the light.

"Wake up, I need to talk to you," she persisted, poking her shoulder repeatedly again.

"Ugh!" Emma whined, as she began to shift into a sitting position, "Fine, but this better not be the safe sex talk again," she mumbled, eliciting an eye roll from Lorelai.

"Is there something you want to share with Mommy?" she said pointedly.

"Um, well guessing by your tone I'm assuming the right answer is yes?" Emma said unsurely.

"Why would you keep something like this from me?" she implored sadly, the tears beginning to sting the back of her eyes again. Lorelai took Emma's hand in hers and looked into her eyes, "Sweets, we need to be able to tell each other everything, you can't be keeping secrets from me, that's not good,"

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Emma asked puzzled, shaking her head slightly.

"Why did you never tell me about your art?" she asked sadly, hurt creeping into her voice.

"Oh," Emma whispered in realization, dropping her gaze to her lap.

"Emmy, I thought you knew that you could tell me anything? I thought you wanted to tell me," she added sadly.

"Mom, you know I tell you everything! This is just, I don't know, different, I guess," Emma said with a shrug, playing with the ends of her long brown curls.

"How?" Lorelai asked incredulously, her voice cracking slightly.

"Well, I don't really like showing people my work, it puts you in such a vulnerable position. I just, I dunno, I thought maybe you guys might think it was stupid, or distracting from my education," she added with a slight sneer.

"Emmy! How could you think that we would be anything other than proud?" she asked disbelievingly. Emma gave a small sad shrug in response. "Hey," Lorelai said quietly, taking Emma's hand in hers again, "There is nothing that you could do that would make me anything less than proud, you got that?" she said sincerely, trying to make eye contact.

Emma smiled and looked up into her mother's imploring eyes, "I know."

"You've got to promise me that you won't keep secrets like this anymore, you have to be able to tell me stuff, kid."

Emma gave her an apologetic smile, "I promise,"

"Pinkie promise?" Lorelai teased, offering out her pinkie finger with a cheeky smile.

Emma laughed, rolling her eyes, "Mom! I promised, is my word not enough?"

Lorelai grinned, "Oh, come on, it's not like I'm asking you to make the unbreakable vow or anything! Will you just do it?" Lorelai exclaimed playfully, pushing her pinkie out closer.

Emma shook her head as she wrapped her pinkie around Lorelai's and said "I pinkie promise. There, you happy?"

"Very," Lorelai said happily, smiling cheekily.

"Can I go back to sleep now?" Emma whined, falling back onto the bed and closing her eyes.

"Are you kidding me? I wanna see your art!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Ugh, Mom! It's eleven o'clock at night!" Emma moaned, snuggling into her pillow once more.

"Uh, uh, you've been holding out on me for three years, missy! I am not leaving this room until you have shown me everything you have done, ever. Ever, ever," Lorelai added for good measure.

"Mom!"

"Come on, my little Michelangelo, up!" she demanded, as she tugged on Emma's arms to pull her limp body into a sitting position.

"Fine." Emma huffed, as she pulled the duvet back and sleepily trudged towards the closet.

Lorelai stood up from the bed, her arms crossed over her chest, "You sure you're not hiding anything else back there? A body? Narnia?"

"No, Mom," Emma drawled impatiently.

"Dobby?" she continued

Emma scoffed, "What is with all the Harry Potter references today?"

"I watched it when you guys were out bonding or whatever," she said nonchalantly, with a shrug of her shoulders.

Emma giggled as she carried the box of sketchbooks back out into the bedroom for the second time that day.

"Well, your brother was at work and I was bored!" she added defensively.

"Uh huh," Emma said in a mock sympathetic tone, as she placed the box on the bed.

Lorelai peered down into the box, admiring the customized covers of the individual sketchbooks, "Wow, you have a lot of sketchpads!" Emma gave a little shrug before Lorelai continued, "So where should I start?"

* * *

Friday evening, Luke was busy cooking for the family dinner that would commence in under 30 minutes. Although he loved to have big family gatherings like these, the pressure that came with it was not always as enjoyable. Plus, there was the added bonus of having his in-laws subtly point out the flaws in everything from the color of their napkins to the way they raised their children.

He was hurriedly moving around the kitchen, doing several tasks at once, when Rick casually walked into the kitchen and leaned back against the counter, his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"You need some help?" Rick asked.

Luke finished chopping the potatoes and swiveled around to toss them into a saucepan, "Nope,"

"Thank God," Rick sighed, as he sat down on one of the bar stools. He watched as Luke moved around the kitchen, wondering how he was supposed to say what he wanted to say. He just had to get it over with; like ripping a band aid off.

"Dad," Rick started but was cut off by the doorbell and his sister's high pitched squeal: "I'VE GOT IT, I'VE GOT IT, I'VE GOT IT!" as she ran towards the front door. Luke swiftly followed, leaving Rick alone in the kitchen. _Guess, I'll try again later then_, he thought to himself.

Emma ran to the front door and flung it open, her smile wide and excited. Her grin soon vanished when she saw who was on the other side, and she let out a disappointed 'oh'. However, she quickly recovered after she remembered what she had promised her Dad. She plastered on a fake smile and said in an overly sweet voice "April, hi!"

April gave a genuine smile in response "Hey, Emmy!"

Luke appeared at the doorway seconds later, his smile wide but cautious. "April, you're here!"

As he took a good look at his daughter he couldn't believe how grown up she looked, she had changed so much in eight years, he couldn't quite believe it. At 20 years old, her hair was still as curly as it was the day she came to the diner eight years ago, although slightly tamer. Her brown eyes sparkled beneath her contacts, no longer hidden beneath the thick red frames and her pale face was made up in a way that only gently enhanced her features rather than masking them.

"Dad!" April squealed as Luke pulled her in for tight hug.

"It's so good to see you, kid" he said sincerely into her curls, holding her for a little longer before releasing her.

"Good to see you too, Dad! I can't wait to see everyone, it's been way too long!" she said as she made her way further into the house.

"Was your drive okay?" Luke asked.

"You mean the _20 minute drive_ from Woodbury? Yeah, I just about made it out alive," she chuckled, teasingly rolling her eyes.

Luke sighed, "Why are you so mean to your old man, huh?" he asked, playfully nudging her side with his elbow.

"It's just too easy!" she teased, "And, you're not _that_ old, you know Dad,"

"Yes he is," Emma said nonchalantly as she walked past them and into the dining room, shooting Luke a cheeky smile over her shoulder.

"Thanks, Em," Luke said dryly, rolling his eyes, causing April to giggle.

"Don't mention it," Emma called playfully over her shoulder, triggering a smile to spread across Luke's face.

"Ah!" April squealed suddenly, as Rick came up behind her pressing his index fingers into her sides, making her jump, "Rick!" she laughed, as she spun on the spot to face him and swatted his chest playfully, "Why did I ever teach you that?"

"So naïve!" he teased, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her into a hug, "It's great to see you," he said sincerely.

"You too, little bro," she said, squeezing his side and beaming up at him. "Well, not so little anymore. Man, you're tall! Did you grow again? You know you're meant to stop at some point,"

"Har, har. You're just jealous," he added in mock sympathy patting her head which was a good eight inches below his.

She scowled at him playfully, "You're not funny,"

"Funnier than you," he shot back playfully, a smile on his face, he gave her shoulder a squeeze and released her.

Luke chuckled at the exchange, grateful that Rick, at least, got on well with April. Lorelai came bounding into the room seconds later, entering from the dining room. Emily, Richard and Emma followed.

"April!" Lorelai greeted happily, "It's so good to see you!" she added as she enveloped her into a hug.

"Hey, Lorelai! It's great to see you, too! Thanks for letting me stay, sorry about the short notice," April added apologetically, returning Lorelai's beaming smile.

"Oh, that's no problem, honey! You're welcome here anytime, you know that," she said genuinely.

"Anytime," Luke confirmed, placing a reassuring hand on April's shoulder. Emma rolled her eyes, looking to the floor to avoid getting a warning stare from Luke.

"Lovely to see you again, April," Emily said primly from where she stood, nodding her head slightly and giving her a polite smile.

"April, you look well. I'm afraid, it seems like _Harvard_ is agreeing with you," Richard said cheerfully, walking towards her, shaking her hand and placing a kiss to her cheek.

April chuckled, "I'm afraid so, Richard," she said, as he straightened up. "Sorry to disappoint," she teased.

"Don't worry, my dear, there's always your Masters!" he said, with a playful glint in his eye.

"Hello? You do realize the front door is open, right?" Rory called from the front door, as her and Dan entered, he was carrying a small suitcase.

"EEEEEEE!" Came Emma's squeal, as she ran to the door, pushing past everyone else in her quest.

"Well, I guess Rory and Dan are here," Rick commented dryly, April giggled but nudged him in the ribs warningly.

"Rory!" Emma exclaimed, as she bounded into her and wrapped her arms around her tightly, nearly knocking her over in the process.

"Geez, kid, I'm lovin' the affection but try not to knock me out next time, okay?" she laughed, as she wrapped her own arms around Emma and pulled her even closer, kissing the top of her sisters head before releasing her.

"Oh wait, I forgot, I'm mad at you," Emma said in mock seriousness.

"Oh, well what'd I do this time?" Rory sighed, shaking her head.

"I tried calling you five times the other day and I got voicemail each time! You better not be screening my calls again!" she joked, pointing an accusing finger at Rory.

"Well," Rory trailed off, dragging out the word guiltily.

Emma gasped dramatically, her mouth agape, "You did, didn't you?! Lorelai Gilmore, I am appalled," she said shaking her head.

"Well, I was really busy at work trying to finish an article, so I may have screened your calls. But it wasn't just you, I promise, Dan was also a victim," she added hastily, shooting Dan an apologetic glance.

"It's true," Dan said somberly and then smiled at them both. Dan, Rory's boyfriend of two years, was of average height but well built. His eyes a dark shade of brown, matched his olive complexion and sparkled as he smiled. His light brown hair was short, and his chin was sprinkled with a coating of light stubble. "Hey, Emmy, how you doing?" he asked genuinely.

"Well, I don't know if I'll get over being ignored by Rory, I may never be okay again. I'll probably just spin out of control from this point onwards, you know, get my tongue pierced, go bald. I guess I can have some kind of therapy, but it may be too late," she joked dramatically, causing Dan to laugh.

Rory sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? I will never again screen your calls,"

"Thank you," Emma stated, nodding her head slightly, "I'm just so glad you guys are here! I haven't seen you in ages," she pouted and then flung her arms around Dan's neck, standing on her tiptoes and pulling him into a hug.

Dan laughed and then hugged her back, "It's good to see you too, Em,"

She released him, flashing him a big smile, as the others started to make their way over to the newly arrived.

"The prodigal daughter returns!" Lorelai called happily as she walked towards Rory.

"Mom!" Rory said excitedly, walking towards her as well and enveloping her into a massive hug, full of meaning. She missed her mom so much, more than she would ever know.

Lorelai hugged her back tightly, placing a kiss to her eldest daughters cheek before letting go, "Aw, you do still love me! I was starting to think my best friend status was being taken over by this one," she teased, as she wrapped her arm around Emma's shoulder. Emma rolled her eyes playfully at Rory, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smile.

The rest of the family had now made their way to the front door, as Lorelai greeted Dan, "Hey, Dan! You're looking as handsome as ever," she commented playfully, causing Dan to laugh bashfully.

"And you look beautiful, Lorelai, as always," he said, smiling down at her.

"Such a charmer," she teased, as she pulled him into a hug and whispered into his ear, "Congratulations!" Dan chuckled softly and gave her a little squeeze in thanks before releasing her.

"That was sickening," Emma joked.

"She's right, stop flirting with my man!" Rory said playfully.

"I wouldn't mind that either," Luke said gruffly as he leant forward to shake Dan's hand, "Dan," he stated, "Good to see you,"

"And you," he replied sincerely.

"Hey, Luke!" Rory called cheerfully, pulling him into a hug, which he returned as awkwardly as ever, "Hey! It's so great to see you! Have you got bags? I'll take them for you," he asked.

"Oh, just that one," she said, pointing to the small suitcase by Dan's feet, "but it's fine, we can take it up,"

"It's not a problem, I'll go put it in your bedroom," he smiled to her, as he grabbed the luggage and made his way to the stairs, before she could protest.

"Hey, guys!" April called, "You'll be sick of all these greetings soon," she giggled as she hugged each of them.

"April! I haven't seen you in ages! I want to hear all about Harvard!" Rory said excitedly, pointing a warning finger at her.

"Of course! And I want to hear everything about the Courant! Everything, everything!"

During this interaction, Richard reached over and shook Dan's hand, "Good to see you, my boy," he said jovially.

"Good to see you too, Sir," he said manneredly, "Emily, you look wonderful," he said, turning to face her and leaning down to kiss both of her cheeks.

Emily smiled back, "Lorelai was right, you know, you are a charmer" she teased.

"I like him," Rory conceded playfully.

Emily and Richard moved over to hug and greet Rory, while Rick shook Dan's hand, "Hey," he said monosyllabically, giving a nod of his head in greeting.

"Ricky! Will you get over here and give me a proper hug like everyone else," Rory said playfully.

Rick cracked a smile and walked over to her, leaning down to give her a squeeze, when she released him he said pointedly, "You're the only one who can call me that,"

"I know," Rory giggled, squeezing his side.

"I'm saying it to remind others who plan to say it later," he said, pointedly looking over at Emma.

Emma rolled her eyes, "Whatever, _Ricky_,"

"Right, who's ready for dinner?" Luke called, as he came down the stairs, clapping his hands together.

"Ooh, me!" Emma exclaimed, running after him. Rick, April, Emily and Richard swiftly followed, leaving Dan, Rory and Lorelai alone in the hall.

Lorelai looked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was in the room, "Let me see, let me see!" she squealed, as she grabbed Rory's arm and pulled it towards her.

"Ow, the arm's still attached to my body, Mom," she said dryly, as she tripped slightly in her mother's haste.

Lorelai admired the simple yet elegant diamond ring which had made its temporary home on Rory's left index finger, "Oh my, it's beautiful, Dan," she breathed, giving him and then Rory a watery smile.

"Isn't it?" Rory said wistfully, looking up at Dan tenderly and wrapping her free arm around his waist and giving him a small squeeze. Dan returned her smile, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Aw, look at you two!"

Dan laughed and Rory rolled her eyes, "Okay, no need to be so gushy,"

"I can't gush? My eldest daughter is getting married, I'm allowed to gush!" Lorelai said firmly.

"You can gush," Dan laughed, placing a kiss to Lorelai's cheek and then making his own way into the dining room, leaving mother and daughter alone for the first time in God knows how many months.

"I've always liked you, Dan!" Lorelai called over her shoulder with a smile, causing Dan to chuckle.

There was a moment of silence before Lorelai gave Rory a watery smile and pulled her into a hug.

"Congratulations, hon," she whispered.

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said, her voice a little choked.

Lorelai sighed heavily, "I've missed you so much, kid!"

"Me too, Mom," Rory said sincerely, hugging her tighter, "Me too." They stood embraced in each other's arms for several minutes; neither able to let go.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, all plates were clear and everyone was slumped lazily in their chairs, clutching their swollen stomachs.

"That was _so_ good! Girls, one tip: find a man who can cook," Lorelai moaned wistfully.

"Noted," Emma stated with a nod.

"Man, I've missed your pot roast!" Rory exclaimed, placing her knife and fork on her now empty plate.

"Same here! Seriously, even if I hated you guys, I would still come here just for this pot roast," April joked.

"Good to know," Luke said dryly. April gave him a cheeky smile and he chuckled, resting back in his seat.

The chatter at the table started to rise again, with many small conversations going on at once. Rick ceased the opportunity, turning to face Luke who was in the seat next to him.

"Hey, um, Dad?" he began softly, his gaze focused on the table.

"Yeah?" Luke asked, confused by his serious tone.

"Do you-" he started but was cut off once again, this time by Lorelai.

"Guess what super-secret, super-creative, super-fantastic talent our beautiful daughter possesses!" Lorelai exclaimed proudly for the whole room to hear.

"Mo-om. You promised you wouldn't make a big deal out of this!" Emma whined, looking pleading at her mother.

Lorelai beamed at her, "Yeah, well, I'm a compulsive liar," she shrugged, swatting the air with her hand dismissively.

"Let me guess, she can tight-rope?" Rory presumed teasingly.

"Nope,"

"She can squirt milk through her eyes?" April guessed, playing along.

"That _would_ be creative" Dan exclaimed jokingly.

Rick turned to look at April questioningly, his eyebrow raised, "It's possible," April said softly, shrugging her shoulders.

"Nope," Lorelai stated again.

"Lorelai, really." Emily sighed, impatiently rolling her eyes.

"What, what?!" April asked eagerly.

Lorelai began drumming the table with her hands in an effort to make a drumroll. Emma rolled her eyes and threw her face into her hands, "Oh my God," she muttered into her hands.

"She's an artist!" Lorelai bellowed excitedly, wrapping her arms around Emma and pulling her close placing an exaggerated kiss to her cheek.

Many different variations of "What?!" were fired at Emma by April, Dan, Emily and Richard. Emma continued to hide her face in her hands, "I hate you," she grumbled at Lorelai.

"Aw, well there's nothing like the love of a daughter," she said sarcastically, placing a hand to her heart.

"I don't know why you're so embarrassed; you're _really_ good!" Luke said pointedly, reaching over to give her shoulder a squeeze.

"Your Dad's right Emmy, you're really talented, it's nothing to be ashamed of!" Rory said encouragingly to Emma. She looked up from her hands and smiled gratefully at Rory.

"Wait a second, you knew?" Lorelai exclaimed pointing to Rory, her eyes wide.

"It's sister stuff, Mom," Rory enlightened, shrugging her shoulders.

"You knew and you didn't tell us?" Lorelai exclaimed, glaring playfully at her and pointing her knife in Rory's general direction.

"Okay, why don't we just put the knife _down_," Emily suggested, as Emma lowered Lorelai's hand and pulled the knife from it.

"Well, I think it is a fine hobby and a great skill to have!" Richard said knowingly.

Emma smirked, "Thanks, Grandpa," she said unconvincingly.

"Can we see some of your art, Emmy?" Emily asked eagerly.

"Do I have a choice?" Emma asked dryly, looking questioningly at her grandmother.

"I'd say not," Dan supplied with a chuckle.

"Fine, I'll show you after desert, okay? As long as you all promise to _let it go,_" she said, looking around at everyone pointedly, emphasizing each of the last three words individually.

Lorelai snorted loudly, Emma whipped her head around giving her a quizzical look, "Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were kidding," Lorelai said in a fake sweet voice.

"Why don't we pick a _new_ topic?" Emma proposed.

"Well, speaking of new topics, Dan and I actually have something we'd like to share," Rory announced, her voice a little shaky. Dan placed a hand on her thigh and squeezed gently in encouragement. Rory slid her engagement ring from her index finger to her ring finger under the table, stalling for time, so she could think of what to say.

"Um, wow, I have no idea how to announce this," she giggled nervously, "I guess I'm just gonna come straight out with it," she looked down at her lap nervously and saw Dan's tanned hand resting on her thigh, she smiled to herself, "We're engaged," she said softly, beaming up at everyone.

There was a momentary silence as everyone processed the news, before they all exclaimed their delights and congratulations at once. Emma rose from her chair, knocking it over in the process before she ran to the other side of the table. She wrapped her arms around Dan and Rory's neck, hugging them tight.

"Oh my God, guys, congratulations, this is amazing!" she exclaimed, letting go and moving round to hug Rory individually.

As she pulled back, Rory kept hold of Emma's hands holding them tight, "Well, I'm glad you think so, sis, because I was wondering ..." she trailed off.

"Yeeeah?" Emma asked incredulously, giggling slightly.

"Would you like to be my maid of honor?" Rory asked expectantly.

Emma gasped softly, her hands flying to her mouth and her eyes wide but gleaming, "Really?" she asked softly. When Rory grinned and nodded her head, Emma lowered her hands and continued, "I'd love to!" leaning down to embrace Rory again, slight tears in her eyes.

Rory giggled and squeezed her little sister tight, before releasing her to accept many more hugs of congratulations. As the rest of the family crowded around the couple, offering their congratulations, Lorelai called excitedly, "Oh! I'll get the champagne!" as she walked into the kitchen.

After giving his own congratulations to the couple, Luke swiftly followed Lorelai. She was on her tiptoes, stretching her arm trying to retrieve the champagne glasses from the top shelf.

"Need help?" he offered with a smile.

Lorelai smiled at him over her shoulder, as she dropped her arms in relief, "You are my savior, Luke Danes," she teased, as she moved out of the way of the cabinet and towards the fridge in search of the champagne.

Luke chuckled as he grabbed the glasses from the top shelf, "Well, I try," he said playfully. Once he had placed all nine glasses onto the kitchen counter, he leant back against the counter and looked suspiciously at Lorelai, as she fumbled around in the drawer for a corkscrew.

"So, you were pretty quiet in there? You okay?" he asked thoughtfully.

Lorelai gave him a smile over her shoulder, as she found the corkscrew and pulled the champagne bottle close to her, "Oh, no actually, I already knew," she said quietly, as she attempted to open the champagne.

"You did?" Luke asked, pushing off from the counter and walking over to where Lorelai stood.

"Well, yeah. Dan asked for my permission," she explained happily, smiling up at him.

"Well, good, you deserve that Lorelai," he said sincerely, giving her shoulder a squeeze. Lorelai smiled appreciatively at him, and then continued her struggle in opening the bottle. Luke laughed softly, "Allow me," he said as he took the corkscrew from her hand.

As Lorelai walked over to fetch the glasses, Luke asked quietly, "So, how come you didn't tell me?"

"Well, I assumed Rory would want to tell you," she said, shrugging her shoulders dismissively.

Luke nodded in understanding, "Right, sure," he mumbled as he removed the cork from the bottle in one swift motion. He opened his mouth to continue but was interrupted by Lorelai, "You ready?" she exclaimed happily, holding all nine glasses skillfully in both hands. Luke nodded and followed her out of the kitchen with a sigh.

* * *

Later that evening, Emma lay on one end of the three-seater sofa, her legs curled up under her and her fingers speedily typing on her phone. April walked over to sit on the end of the sofa, pulling her knees up and wrapping her arms around her legs. Emma tried to smoothly avoid the new presence, her eyes fixated to the screen of her phone.

April looked over at her timidly, stretching out her left leg fully, so that it reached Emma and poking her lightly in the shins, "Hey," she spoke softly.

"Hey," Emma said forcefully, looking up for a fraction of a second and giving April a small smile before averting her gaze back to its original position.

"_So_," April said dragging out the word and poking Emma's shins again, causing her to look up impatiently, "Can I see your artwork now?" she asked with a grin.

Emma glanced at the rest of the family who were dotted around the living room and dining room, immersed in their own conversations, "Uh, sure. Quietly," she added for good measure and pointed towards the stairs.

As they entered her bedroom, Emma went straight for her closet, fumbling around for the box of sketchbooks. April looked around Emma's room absentmindedly, her eyes fell on a picture that was taped to the side of her mirror. She walked over to it, as her eyes adjusted and processed the photo she giggled softly.

Emma dropped the box to her bed with a groan, kneading the small of her back with her knuckles as she turned to face April. She gave a small smile before walking over to her, looking down at the photo that April now held in her hand. It was a picture of Emma and Luke, both pulling a funny face that had been taken at the Yankees/Red Sox game. Emma smiled wistfully at the memory, before April interrupted her train of thought.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she trailed off sheepishly as she tried to re-tape the photo to the mirror.

"Oh, no, it's fine, you can look," Emma said with a dismissive shrug. April smiled at her over her shoulder before having one last glance at the photo and reattaching it.

Emma drew in a long breath before speaking, "Um, April?" she asked. April turned around to face her in response, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course! What's up?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

Emma gave her a small smile and gestured to the bed for them to sit. Once they were both situated, Emma continued, "I want to … apologize,"

April dropped her gaze to her lap, "For what?" she asked unconvincingly.

"I think you know," Emma said softly, "I really am sorry," she persisted, placing her hand on top of Aprils and giving it a gentle squeeze.

April looked up, locking eyes with Emma and giving her a small reassuring smile, "I know."

"I didn't mean to treat you the way I did. I just … got jealous, I guess," Emma said sheepishly, realizing now how stupid it sounded.

"I understand,"

"You do?" Emma asked incredulously, tilting her head slightly in confusion.

"Well, yeah. You don't think I get jealous of you sometimes?" April asked. Emma was silent, she didn't know how to respond to that. She had never even considered the fact that April might feel the same way, "You and Rick, you grew up with your Dad. Our Dad," she corrected, "With both of your parents. A lot of people didn't have that privilege," she explained softly, shrugging her shoulders as she finished.

"Oh," Emma breathed, dropping her own gaze to her hand which was now trying to remove a tiny thread from the duvet cover. She suddenly felt like an idiot for acting the way she had. "I guess, I hadn't thought about it that way before," she said sheepishly, looking up at April again.

April gave her a knowing smile, "I didn't expect you to," she said with a shrug, "Honestly, Em, it's fine,"

"No, it's not," Emma spoke softly but surely, "Can we just start afresh? You know, wipe the slate clean, or any other of those stupid idioms,"she giggled shyly.

April laughed and looked up at Emma, "Sounds good," she said, relief rushing through her, she stuck out her hand in agreement. Emma took her hand to shake and then pulled April in for a quick hug. April smiled, and squeezed her tight in thanks before releasing her. She swiveled around on the bed to look at the mountain of sketchbooks on the bed, "Can I?" she asked eagerly.

Emma sighed heavily, "Yes, yes, go ahead," she said grudgingly.

April took a sketchpad from the top of the pile and opened it to the first page, she gasped as she saw what lay beneath the heavily embellished front cover, "Wow, this is _really_ good! I mean really, _really_ good!" she said in shock, whipping her head around to face Emma.

Emma dropped her face into her hands and whined, "Oh, not you too!"

* * *

After the celebration, Luke was cleaning the table, piling up the dishes, while the rest of the family resigned in the living room, where the drinks, anecdotes and the laughter continued.

"Dad?" Rick said, leaning casually against the doorpost of the kitchen, watching Luke starting to load the big pile of dishes into the dishwasher.

Luke looked up and saw Rick leaning lazily, watching him work. "Great, finally some help," he said dryly, rolling his eyes.

To Luke's surprise however, Rick came into motion and walked over to help him, "Dad? Can I talk to you about something?" as he took the plate from his father's hand to place it in the dishwasher.

"Thanks," Luke said gruffly, before answering his questions, "Sure. What's up?"

"Well, um… So… See, the thing is…" Rick started rambling nervously, but was interrupted once again.

"There are my boys!" Lorelai shouted as she walked into the kitchen. She looked from Luke to Rick and back as they stared at her, and she shook her head, "Dan's being drowned in pheromones over there," she pointed towards the living room, "and dad's inspecting the fireplace, so it's time you guys join the party. That can wait," she waved at the dishes and walked over to grab both Luke's and Rick's arm and pulled them into the living room.

"Alright, alright," Luke said, pulling himself free and walking ahead of her.

Lorelai also let go of Rick and followed Luke to join the party. Rick looked around the empty kitchen and sighed heavily, before doing the same.

* * *

"Oy, Rick!" Lorelai shouted from across the room, startling him. He had been staring at his hands in his lap for a while, lost in thought.

"Hm, what?" Rick asked confused.

"Come on, man, smile! It's a party!"

Rick sighed and dropped his hands to his sides, trying to pay attention to the useless conversations going on before him, but the smile remained absent. After a few minutes, however, his mind was occupied again and he didn't hear Emma mocking him about the time he had no gel left and he looked like a brunette version of the Mad Hatter, followed by bulks of laughter.

"Rick!" Lorelai called loudly and he looked up and looked around. He saw his parents exchange a look of concern, but he kept his mouth shut.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" April asked when he didn't even give a kick.

Rick looked at his father, who was sitting next to Emma, his focus returned to yet another sketchbook he hadn't seen yet. He sighed and shook his head. "Nothing," he grumbled between clenched teeth, staring dangerously at Luke, who didn't even notice.

"You're not unhappy I'm marrying Dan, are you? I thought you liked Dan," Rory said carefully.

Rick looked at her and let his shoulders hang, attempting to give her a smile, but failing miserably, "No. It's nothing like that. I'm happy for you guys."

Lorelai, who was sitting on the floor reached out to touch his knee and said, "You can tell us, Hon. We're family after all."

Rick felt the blood under his skin start to boil, thinking about how often he had tried to talk to his father, his _family_, the last few days, but had gotten no response. None whatsoever. He knew his father could be slow, but even he could not be so oblivious right now. He looked at his father, paying full attention to Emma, when he started to mock, his voice full of venom, "Family?! Sure, yeah. I'll go with it. 'Fa-mi-ly'," he used his fingers to form quotation marks.

Luke and Emma stopped their little confab and Lorelai jumped back to sit on the ground at his sudden outburst, her reached-out hand back in her lap and her eyes wide with surprise. "Wh… What are you talking about?" Lorelai asked confused.

Rick snorted, "Dad knows what I'm talking about. Ask him."

Everyone's stare went from Rick to Luke in a quick motion you'd normally only see at a Tennis-game. Luke however, kept his eyes on Rick, ignoring the others. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked bitterly, not at all happy with his son's tone, but trying to keep his calm.

"You know damn well what that means!" Rick threw his hands in the air in frustration and his eyes narrowed like a snake ready to attack, "I don't know how often I've tried to talk to you the last few days, but nothing! Isn't that what family is supposed to be for? Shouldn't I be able to come to you, any of you, whenever I need to?!"

"Rick …" Luke said in a reassuring tone, trying to calm him, but he was cut off.

"No! Don't 'Rick' me! Don't you dare!" he stood up from his comfortable chair and walked behind the couch where Luke, Emma and April where seated, pacing back and forth repeatedly, causing the three to turn around to face him and their heads continuing to move rapidly from side to side as their eyes followed him, "I needed you and you weren't there, period!"

"It's been a few busy days Rick. I noticed, okay? I was planning on coming …" Luke tried again, but once again did not succeed to finish.

"Busy days, huh? Yeah, right! You've got time for Emma and her foolishness all week! And now you're just looking at those idiotic drawings, while I've got real problems!"

"Hey!" Emma screeched, taking in a deep breath.

"Oh, come on, you big baby," Rick threw at his little sister, the same horrible fight-face apparent, only now directed to her, "You feel left out compared to April who comes here like once a month, you cry a bit, you yell a bit and you get exactly what you want!"

"How did you …" Emma started, but Rick wasn't done just yet.

"You're as lazy as hell, but get straight A's and praises from mom and dad, while I work my ass off and still get nothing. Probably won't get into Yale either, while you just throw your chance out of the window with your incipit laziness. And then calls herself smart," he continued, ending with a snort.

"Rick, stop it," Lorelai said weakly, unheard by her one and only son.

"And that 'art'," he again used his hands to make quotation marks, "it's just some stupid kid drawings used to draw attention, and hell, even succeeding in it! Like anyone really cares about drawings! Like it actually _matters_!"

Luke got up from the couch and walked towards Rick, making him unable to pace in his original path. "Richard William Danes! Stop attacking your sister right now. This is between you and me. You wanna talk? Let's go upstairs, right now!" Luke said angrily, making his way towards the stairs, but turning back around at the sound of the voice of his ever increasingly angry son.

"Oh, now I get your attention," he said in painfully mock interest. "You know what, Em. You're not completely useless. This –making a scene- thing really does work to get the attention. Thanks," he spat, however his 'thanks' was not filled with gratitude, not in the least.

Emma was starting to get upset, "Stop it, Rick! I didn't do anything to you!"

"Sorry, my bad. Precious, perfect Emma never does anything wrong," he mocked, which made Emma cry. "You have been getting anything you want your entire life, so easy. Well, guess what? Some of us have got real problems," at his last sentence he bent down to Emma screaming his words loudly, which made Emma cry even harder and hanging her head away from Rick towards April, who folded her arms around Emma in a protective gesture.

"Rick, that's enough. More than enough," Luke said, looking at Lorelai, who was still sitting useless on the ground, wide-eyed, incapable to believe or understand what had just happened.

Rick turned his attention back to Luke as his voice filled increasingly more with sadness, "I can't tell my friends about this! They wouldn't understand. They would think I'm some kind of wuss. I've been thinking and thinking, but the only thing I can come up with is to talk to you, but you aren't here! Not for me anyhow. And damn it, I need you! I don't know what to do! And my girlfriend and I haven't spoken in …" he trailed off, realizing he had just spoiled his own secret. He looked from his father at the shocked faces around him and back to his father, whose mouth had dropped open. "Shit!" he quickly passed his father and ran for the stairs, taking them two at the time, his boots making incredible stamping noises, 'boom, boom, boom', followed by the loud, slightly familiar sound of the slamming of his bedroom door once he passed it.

Lorelai, who had started to feel really sorry for him at his more emotional tone, was the first to break the silence, "D … Did he say 'girlfriend'?" she didn't direct her question to anyone in particular, nor did she look away from her stare towards the stairs, just like the other family members.

"Yeah," Dan answered slowly, when no one else did, putting his hand on Rory's shoulder and looking at her with a sad smile in a plea to make her feel a little better.

"Should I go up?" Lorelai asked doubtfully, quickly followed by her own response, "I should go up," she decided as she got to her feet.

Luke held his hand out to her in his Lukely manner, stopping her dead in her tracks, "No, I should go. He has indeed been trying to talk to me several times this weekend. We kept being interrupted. I should go," he explained as he made his way towards the stairs and slowly climbed them, trying to think of what to say to his overly upset teenage son.

* * *

Rick was lying on his bed, face burrowed in his pillow as tears leapt from his eyes. He hated it when he cried. He felt too big, too tough for it, yet there were occasions, luckily extremely rare occasions when it unfortunately did happen. This was one of them. Not only did he feel bad about his seemingly hopeless problems with his girlfriend, he now also felt bad for yelling at his father and his sister for no good reason but his own sorrow. Of course he should have known that this particular weekend was not the right one to talk to his father. He had had the whole week, the whole week to think of whether to talk or not and if so to who, yet he chose the weekend when the entire family got back together, even though he knew how crowded these weekends got.

He heard a few knocks on the door, followed by a familiar manly voice saying, "Can I come in?" but he didn't respond. After a few more knocks the door opened and his father entered his room. He closed the door behind him and walked over to his bed, sitting down on the end. "So … You wanted to talk about your … girlfriend, right?" Luke asked gently.

Rick turned around, half ashamed at his tears, half relieved at his father's presence and ability to finally talk to him. He smiled sadly at his dad and nodded, "Yeah…"

"Okay… Here I am. Talk," Luke said, trying to sound supportive, but it came out in his normal gruffly matter, only a tad more unsure, which made Rick smile a bit.

When Rick remained silent, Luke raised his eyebrows and looked at him pointedly, urging him to speak.

"Okay… So… I have a girlfriend," Rick stated awkwardly, looking into his father's dark blue eyes.

"I figured," Luke replied dryly, rolling his eyes. "For how long? What's her name?"

Rick sighed heavily, deciding to give his father all the information he wanted. "Her name's Rachel," he said, "we've been together for over four months now. Actually, last time I spoke to her was our four month anniversary, which she insisted on celebrating," he rolled his eyes, but smiled at the memory. "Pff, like four months is worth celebration. A year, sure, six months, nah acceptable, but every month…" he shook his head, a smile still on his face, but it quickly disappeared as he remembered what had happened. He scraped his throat and looked expectantly at his father, who was nodding his understanding.

"So, what's wrong with her?" Luke asked.

"What?! There's nothing wrong with her! Why would there be something wrong with her? You really think that low of me, that she has to have some kind of mental illness or something to be with me?" Rick said, literally jumping into his defense.

Luke just smirked and motioned him to sit down again, "Then why did you never introduce her to us?"

"Oh," Rick said, now understanding what Luke had meant. He thought for a moment and then answered with a shrug of his shoulders, "I didn't feel like it."

"Good reason," Luke shot back dryly with a roll of his eyes. "On to the problem then?" he said, urging Rick to tell him whatever it was he needed off his chest.

"Right, right." Rick nodded his head, taking some time to think of how to bring this up. "So… at our four month anniversary…" he started, looking away from Luke, his face blushing, "We had, you know, one of those romantic evenings…" he trailed off.

"Yes?" Luke asked pointedly hanging forward on the bed, trying to look at his face.

"And we had sex, okay!" Rick said quickly, standing from the bed once again to pace the small room.

Luke couldn't help but hold his breath for a little while at Rick's revelation. His only son was growing up way too fast. He brought both hands to his baseball cap and adjusted it slightly, just so he had something to do with his hands, while thinking of what to say.

"Wow, um…" he started, at a low volume, trying to find his words. "Okay, so, um… You-uh… you're having sex?" he asked for confirmation.

"No," Rick answered annoyed, as though he had already made that perfectly clear, still pacing, "No I'm not having sex. I had sex, had! Past sense."

"O-kay…" Luke said slowly and just when he wanted to formulate his next question, he was cut off.

"And it was bad," Rick said softly, his head down as he dropped himself back on the bed, his face covered in his hands. "It was really bad, for both of us," he said looking up at his father with a sad and disgusted look on his face, "It was awkward and painful, literally painful, for her. I mean, there were good parts, sure, and we, you know, finished, but…" he trailed off with a deep sigh and went in a different direction as he whispered, "What was your first time like?"

Luke listened carefully to what Rick was saying and started to feel sorry for him. "Me?" Luke asked, thrown off-guard at the personal question. He wasn't one to share too personal information in the first place, but he definitely didn't talk like this with his son, who was just the same.

"Yeah," Rick said, looking back at his hands, his fingers playing with his own long-sleeved shirt, "Was it bad?"

"Um… no," he said apologetically and he heard Rick sigh. "I'm not saying it was good," Luke said quickly, "but good enough for a first time."

Rick nodded in understanding and then shook his head, while letting out another breath.

"Look, son," Luke started awkwardly, not knowing where to look or what to do with his hands, so he combined the two and played with his own fingers, while staring at them, "First times, not just your very first, but every first time with another girl, can be bad, awkward and even slightly uncomfortable, 'cause you don't know what the girl likes sexually…" he stopped for a little while, "It's your job to find out. You'll learn, you'll both learn and it'll get better. The next time will be better." Rick looked up at Luke and Luke followed that motion as he stared into his son's disbelieving eyes. "It will!" Luke said, "I promise."

Rick nodded and then carefully asked, "So every time you had a new girlfriend… it sucked?"

Luke laughed a bit. "No, not every time, and I wouldn't say 'suck'. It never 'sucks'," he said as he made air-quotes with his hands.

"Well, it sucked for me," Rick said softly and awkwardly.

"No, it didn't," Luke said with complete certainty, as though he had been there and Rick rolled his eyes. "You finished, didn't you?" Luke asked. As Rick nodded, he continued, "Well then, it didn't completely suck."

"She didn't… um…" Rick said pointing his finger forward, as though he could point out what he wanted to say.

"Next time, she will," Luke said matter-of-factly.

"I don't think there will be a next time," Rick said sadly, closing his eyes.

"Why not?"

"I haven't spoken to her since it happened. Neither of us even tried contacting the other," Rick cleared his throat when he felt a small blockade, making his voice sound slightly disfigured.

"You haven't called her?" Luke asked incredulously. When Rick shamefully shook his head, Luke continued, "Oh Rick… You like this girl, right?"

"Yes," he stated quickly.

"You wanna continue with this Rachel, correct?

"Of course," he said almost angry at the assumption that he wouldn't.

"You gotta call her, as soon as possible. Not tonight, it's too late, but tomorrow for sure. Call her, meet up and talk."

"Why?" Rick asked, "She hasn't contacted me either. She'll probably break up with me."

"Why?!" Luke asked incredulously. "Because you're the guy!" he stated clearly, "You're the guy and you're supposed to call. If it was bad, she probably knows that too, and she'll feel awkward to call you too, but now… Now, she probably feels like you dated her to get her in bed and then dump her right after."

"What?! She doesn't think that!" he replied angrily, "She's not like that and she knows me!"

"She probably does think that, Rick. You slept with her and you didn't call. She'll feel it's one of those classic tales of a stood-up. Sorry, kid, but that's the truth, so call her and talk this out."

Rick nodded as he realized his father was right; he should have called her. Now, he wished he had talked to Luke sooner. "Talk this out?" he asked. "I can't talk about this. I can't just say 'who cares about a little bad sex? Let's move on, shall we?'," he said sarcastically. "That's ridiculous."

Luke rolled his eyes at his sarcasm, but decided to ignore it. "You can do it, but you can't talk about it?" he asked sarcastically.

Rick kept his mouth shut, his eyes averted. He had no answer. After a little silence he looked up again and said, "You're right. I'm an idiot. I should have called her sooner."

"You're no idiot," Luke said comfortingly.

"I'll call her first thing in the morning," Rick said decisively with a nod of his head.

Luke nodded his head too, "Good." He stood up and placed his hand on his son's shoulder, which made Rick look up at him. "Don't worry; it will get better," he said with a slight, but encouraging smile and Rick nodded, a smile appearing on his face as well.

He made a motion to walk towards the door, but half way he turned around and asked, "You're being safe, right? No need for the talk?"

"Geez! Yes, Dad, we got it covered," Rick said blushingly, rolling his eyes.

"Alright," Luke said and he walked towards the closed bedroom door.

With his hand on the handle, Rick called, "Dad?"

"Yeah?" he answered, turning around again to face him.

"Thanks," Rick said gruffly.

"Yeah, sure," Luke said with a smile, pulling the handle down and opening the door. "Good luck," he said sincerely, holding his hand up as a greeting and exiting the door completely.

* * *

Luke walked down the stairs to find the living room completely empty. He looked at his watch and noticed it was already 1.30am. He quickly made his rounds of checking if all the doors were closed, and all the kitchen appliances were shut down apart from the dishwasher, before walking back upstairs towards his own room.

Lorelai quickly closed her book as the door opened and looked expectantly at Luke. "Hey, hon," she said.

"Hey," Luke answered gruffly, taking off his cap with one hand and running his other through his greying hair.

"So? What did he want to talk about?" Lorelai asked curiously, sitting up straight.

Luke had just removed his watch and was now untying his shoes. He stood up, turned around and worked on the buttons of his flannel, while saying with a sigh, "Can I brush my teeth first? I'll join you in a sec,"

"Yeah, sure," Lorelai said, her disappointment in the further delay apparent in her voice, but she watched Luke shedding his clothes carefully, to make up for her disappointment.

Luke quickly removed his flannel and shirt and then worked on his jeans. He walked over to their bathroom in just his boxers and Lorelai followed him with her eyes until he disappeared. She heard the toilet flush and the water from the sink run, followed by the buzzing sound of his electric toothbrush.

After a while he re-entered the room and smiled at Lorelai when he saw she was still staring at him. He walked over to his familiar grey jogging pants and navy-green 'sleeping' shirt and put them both on. He finally climbed into his side of the bed and gave Lorelai a quick kiss.

"Tell me!" Lorelai demanded, unable to keep her curiosity in tow.

Luke sighed as he adjusted his pillows to sit up. "Her name's Rachel," he said, "They have been together for four months."

"Four months?" Lorelai asked softly in conformation. When Luke nodded she shook her head and added even softer, "Four whole months..." She looked up at him and asked, "Why didn't he tell us?"

"I don't know," Luke said, shrugging his shoulders, "Don't think he knows either."

"Those kids are too much like you, keeping things from us," Lorelai accused Luke mockingly, pointing a stern finger at him.

"What?!" Luke asked offended, "I don't keep things from you! And don't start about when I found out about Arpil, that's history!" he quickly added when Lorelai opened her mouth to say something.

When she closed her mouth again with an apologetic look on her face, he added, "Besides, you're the one who's been keeping things from me."

"What? No, I haven't!" Lorelai said, now coming to her defense.

"Dan asking you for Rory's hand, their engagement," he counted on his fingers.

Lorelai waved him away with her hand and rolled her eyes, "I thought she'd want to tell you herself." When Luke opened his mouth to protest, she quickly added, "Besides, I didn't mean to accuse you of keeping things from me, I meant for others."

When Luke looked at her questioningly, she explained, "You have this shell around you. I've been lucky enough to get through it, but for others, it's still there. Rick and Emma seem to have that too, especially Rick. He doesn't tell you things, unless you pry them out of him. Like father, like son."

Luke nodded in understanding and looked down at his own hands in a shameful manner.

Lorelai laughed, scooted a bit closer and placed her hand on his stubble-covered cheek, "It's not a bad thing, hon. It makes you guys very interesting. I was so proud of myself when I got through to you!"

Luke gave her a sad smile and nodded.

Lorelai poked Luke's side and he jumped slightly at the sudden discomfort. "Tell me more about this Rachel," Lorelai instructed.

"I don't know more about her as a person," Luke said gruffly, gaining an unsatisfying look from Lorelai. "I know he really likes her," he added quickly.

"So what was the problem then?" Lorelai wanted to know.

Luke sighed and looked at Lorelai to watch her reaction to the news, "They're sleeping together," he said slowly.

Lorelai squeezed her eyes shut and let out a painful moan, followed by a small whistle that sounded something like, 'hm… pffw'. She opened her eyes again and looked at her husband, "Our little boy's having sex," as though it was news to him too. He nodded, but remained silent. "Are they… being safe? She's not pregnant, is she?"

"No, no," Luke added quickly, putting his hand on her shoulder comfortably, "T hey are being safe."

Lorelai let out a breath of relief, "Good." Luke nodded, but when he didn't continue, Lorelai started asking, "So, then…"

She was cut off by Luke, who had started talking at the same time, "They did it once and it wasn't good. He was just insecure and scared. They hadn't spoken to one another since it happened. I told him to call her."

Lorelai nodded her understanding. "Poor guy," she said with a pout.

Luke laughed, "Yeah, and poor girl. He hasn't called her for about a week."

"Ouch, Rick…" Lorelai said shaking her head.

"Yeah," Luke agreed and then sighed.

They remained silent for a while. Luke dropped his head back on his pillow and stared at the ceiling, his mind occupied.

"Hon?" Lorelai asked. When he didn't respond, she tried again while placing her hand on his thigh, "Luke?"

"Hm?" Luke asked distracted, looking up at her.

"Something else you wanna tell me?"

"No, that was basically it," he answered, attempting to scoot down to get ready for sleep.

Lorelai grabbed his arm and stopped him, before he would lie down and turn his back to her like he would always do if he wasn't talking about something.

"Tell me," she said softly, now rubbing the arm she had grabbed before.

Luke sighed deeply, not willing to share his own doubts, yet not willing to deny Lorelai something either. "It's just…" he started and sighed again, "I thought I was a good father, you know?" he asked, not really expecting an answer, "but now… I'm not so sure anymore."

Lorelai scooted even closer, pressing her body against him and leaning her own head on his pillow. She put her hand on his cheek once again and motioned him to look at her. When he did, she smiled and said, "You are a good father. A very good father."

Luke shook his head and counted on his finger, "I haven't been there for the first twelve years of April's life…"

"Not your fault and she knows that. If you could change it, you would and she knows that too."

Luke continued, his middle finger joining his index finger as he continued counting, as though he didn't hear Lorelai's counter-arguments, "Rick apparently feels left out. He feels like we don't support him enough, like we aren't just as happy with him as we are with Emma, like we aren't proud."

"He was angry. He didn't mean the things he said. We do support him, we all know that," Lorelai said, though slightly unsure, "we know how hard he works and we always praise him for that."

Luke held up his ring finger now, "Besides he apparently feels the need to hide his relationship from us and when he needs me, I'm not there."

"It was a crazy weekend, Luke. He could have come to you sooner."

Luke just shook his head at that and dropped his hand, "Emma…" he sighed, "Emma has been keeping her passion from us and has been feeling left out when April's here. Apparently I don't give her attention and I didn't even know she's still into sports. I feel like I don't even know my own kids. I wonder what April has been hiding."

"Luke, stop it!" Lorelai said sternly, "It's not true, okay? None of it. Emma is a teenager. It's her age. She already apologized, didn't she?" when Luke nodded, she continued, "Do you know how lucky they are?" she placed her hands on his chest and rubbed it gently, finally gaining Luke's attention. She spoke as he looked at her, "I wished I had a father like you; loving, caring, interested in whatever I do, always there when need be and always ready to help. You have no idea how much both Rory and I wished you were her real father, Luke."

Luke smiled for a little while and said, "I wished that too," gaining a smile from Lorelai as well, but he then started to shake his head again and he sighed. "So, what about you?" he asked.

"What about me?" Lorelai asked confused.

"Anything you haven't been telling me? Have I been giving you too little attention too?"

Lorelai laughed. "Oh yeah, totally! Especially in bed," she said trying to lighten the mood, "So you better give me your undivided attention now, mister!"

Luke couldn't laugh about it. "This is not a laughing matter, Lorelai," he said seriously and he moved from his sitting position to lie down on his back, 'causing Lorelai to change positions also.

As she moved to lie down on her side, her hand under her head to look at Luke, she apologized. "No, I have no complaints," she answered his question, serious now.

Luke sighed, while looking at the ceiling and once again started to rant, "Rory has been engaged for over a week, which apparently you knew, but didn't tell me, Emma has been an incredible artist for God knows how long and Rick has had a secret girlfriend for four months now and is having sex." He shot a quick glance at Lorelai, who just smiled apologetically. He reached over to turn off the light on his nightstand and turned to his side, turning his back towards Lorelai. He felt her rubbing it comfortingly as he said, "Man, what's with all the secrets?"

* * *

**A/N: We apologize for the length of this chapter. We know it can be annoying to have so many words in just one chapter, but we had so many ideas and we felt it all fitted our "What's with all the secrets?" chapter, 'cause, well, it were all secrets. We promise they won't all be so long. **

**Also, next chapter will contain some flashbacks. So, if you're interested in Luke and Lorelai's past, we'll learn some more about that in chapter 3.**

**Thank you for reading and keep posted! **


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